For example, the self-employed will be able to benefit and deploy self-consumption systems in their workplaces; a specific quota is also authorized for them, and Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) and the penetration of heat pumps are also promoted.
The incentive programs that the Government has strengthened fall under the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), are outlined in Royal Decree 447/2021 and Royal Decree 1124/2021, and are managed by the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE), an agency under the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO).
The amendment to Royal Decree 477/2021 introduces changes such as:
Self-employed individuals are included as beneficiaries of the self-consumption promotion subprograms and will be able to deploy self-consumption installations at a workplace other than their home. Furthermore, the possibility of reserving a specific quota for them in budget increases is established.
The Energy Service Company (ESCO) model, or investment by third parties, is being promoted so that a company can carry out the installations for individuals or other businesses, thus facilitating self-consumption installations when the consumer cannot afford the investment.
The permitted storage capacity is being made more flexible, increasing from 2 kWh/kW to 5 kWh/kW, in line with the growing widespread adoption of storage solutions.
Among the modifications to Royal Decree 1124/2021, the range of heat pumps eligible for the program has been expanded to facilitate greater deployment of this technology, thus increasing the number of units that can be installed, many of which are manufactured in Spain. Furthermore, a reference to the minimum average seasonal performance required for this technology in building cooling applications has been added. This addition is motivated by the upcoming publication of European regulations that will establish the methodology for calculating the amount of renewable energy contributed by these applications.
Royal Decree 477/2021, of June 29, approved the granting of 660 million euros, expandable to 1,320 million, in aid for self-consumption installations (up to 900 million), storage behind the meter (up to 220 million) and air conditioning with renewable energies (up to 200 million).
This is one of the first aid programs launched under the PRTR (Renewable Energy Policy) and the first large-scale program specifically aimed at self-consumption and storage. Currently, the Autonomous Communities are exhausting their initial budgets and requesting extensions, confirming the interest in and potential of self-consumption in Spain.
These projects are expected to add 1,850 MW of renewable energy to the grid. They are projected to create over 25,000 direct and indirect jobs, generate €1.7 million in GDP growth for every €1 million in aid, and reduce CO2 emissions by more than one million tons per year.
It consists of six subprograms, according to the sectors and technology to be developed, in which equipment and materials; civil works; electromechanical, hydraulic, control and auxiliary equipment; management and monitoring systems, drafting of projects, technical reports and project management, among other actions are subsidized.
The subsidies vary depending on the beneficiary and the type of installation:
For photovoltaic solar energy, subsidies range from 15% for large companies to 45% for SMEs or systems under 10 kW; individuals can benefit from 40%, or 50% in the case of collective self-consumption, while public administrations receive 70%.
For wind energy, the subsidy ranges from 20% for the largest installations in large companies to 50% for small systems in SMEs; individuals receive 50% and public administrations 70%.
For behind-the-meter storage, subsidies for companies range from 45% to 65%, depending on size, while individuals, public administrations, and the third sector benefit from 70%.
For heating and cooling with renewables, subsidies range from 40% to 70%, depending on the technology used. Public administrations that own residential buildings can obtain 70%.
Furthermore, and with the aim of addressing the demographic challenge, all these concepts are increased by 5% in municipalities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants and in municipalities with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants in rural areas whose different population centers have fewer than 5,000 inhabitants.
For its part, the Incentive Program for the implementation of thermal renewable energy installations in different sectors of the economy, regulated in RD 1124/2021, has an initial budget of 150 million, expandable according to demand and the development of the projects.
These subsidies promote thermal renewable energies in productive sectors such as industry, agriculture or services, but also in public sector establishments and infrastructures that contribute to the decarbonization process of the economy and, in the case of companies, consolidate their competitiveness in the market.
They allow the commissioning of solar thermal energy installations, geothermal energy, ambient energy (aerothermal and hydrothermal), biomass or microgrids of heat and cold, subsidizable up to 1 MW of power only for the latter, with applications for the production of cold and/or heat in buildings (domestic hot water and air conditioning) or in industrial processes: cleaning, drying, thermal baths for surface treatment, laundry services, vehicle washing, pasteurization and preservation of perishable products, air conditioning of industrial buildings, livestock and greenhouses, etc.
Eligible costs include investment in equipment and materials, construction costs, control and monitoring systems for both production and demand of thermal energy, as well as civil works necessary for the execution of the projects.
The aid provided covers 70% of these costs in the public sector and up to 45% in the case of small businesses, and in both areas it is increased by 5% in areas of demographic challenge.
