The Spanish Cabinet has approved a royal decree, which introduces a package of urgent measures to boost the country’s energy transition. It includes the already announced elimination of the “sun tax”, and other important measures, such as compliance with renewable energy objectives, electric vehicle adoption, reduced electricity prices, a social bonus for heating, consumer protection measures, and the extension of an electric social bond.
Spain's new Minister of the Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera.
Image: Ministry of Ecological Transition
Through the new royal decree, approved by Spain’s Council of Ministers today, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, directed by Teresa Ribera, has put an end to the so-called “sun tax”, which the Mariano Rajoy Government approved, also by royal decree, in October 2015. The announcement for the scrapping of the notorious tax was already made by Ribera in June.
The main focus of the decree is the introduction of a regulation to support self-consumption across the country. The new rules include: simplified procedures for registering new power generators, not exceeding 100 kW in size, under self-consumption; the right to self-consume energy for community renewable energy projects (according to the Minister, 65% of Spaniards live in a co-operative regime, which will allow them to take advantage of economies of scale); and the removal of all charges for self-consumed power.
The Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy (IDEA) says the installed power currently registered under self-consumption in Spain amounts to 1,196 MW, of which 170 MW correspond to renewable energy installations. Greenpeace also released a study this week, in which it is calculated that the promotion of self-consumption could save €1,770 million for Spanish energy consumers.
The government intends to make the transition to a clean and accessible energy model easier by eliminating a series of regulatory barriers, which have both “hindered and discouraged” the introduction of electricity self-consumption in Spain.
Other measures have also been approved, including: