The Government of the Generalitat will open in the coming days a call for aid for self-consumption and storage with renewable energy sources endowed with 115 million euros. The aid, managed by the Catalan Energy Institute of the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda, comes from the European Next Generation EU funds. This call covers installations with and without storage for companies, self-employed individuals, third sector entities, the public sector, and residential (including homeowner associations). The specific technologies that are eligible for subsidies are photovoltaic, wind, and thermal generation: solar thermal, biomass, geothermal, hydrothermal, or aerothermal (excluding air-to-air technologies).
Several programs
With the aim of promoting the deployment of renewable energies, both thermal and electrical, in the different consumer sectors, fostering greater control of consumption through the development of behind-the-meter storage systems, and boosting industry and the associated business sector, this royal decree is promoted, which aims to establish the regulatory bases for the direct granting of aid to autonomous communities, as well as the approval of the six incentive programs for self-consumption, storage, and thermal uses of renewable energies indicated below:- Incentive Program 1: will cover the installation of self-consumption systems, with renewable energy sources (photovoltaic or wind), in the services sector, with or without storage.
- Incentive Program 2: aimed at the installation of self-consumption systems, with renewable energy sources (photovoltaic or wind), in other productive sectors of the economy, with or without storage.
- Incentive Program 3: has to do with the incorporation of storage in self-consumption systems, with renewable energy sources, already existing in the services sector and other productive sectors.
- Incentive Program 4: related to the installation of self-consumption systems, with renewable energy sources, in the residential sector, public administrations and the third sector, with or without storage.
- Incentive Program 5: which includes the incorporation of storage in self-consumption systems, with renewable energy sources, already existing in the residential sector, public administrations and the third sector.
- Incentive Program 6: equivalent to the execution of thermal renewable energy installations in the residential sector. It includes solar thermal, biomass, geothermal, hydrothermal or aerothermal technologies (excluding air-to-air technologies) for heating and/or domestic hot water in homes.
Photovoltaic Energy in Catalonia
From 2017 until today, the self-consumption photovoltaic sector in Catalonia has grown very significantly, especially from 2019 onwards, as a result of the approval of a more favorable regulatory framework for this technology than there was previously.As of September 30, 2021, there were 16,591 self-consumption photovoltaic installations in service in Catalonia, distributed throughout the territory, with a total installed capacity of 142.56 MW. In addition, 39.1% of new installations are put into operation each quarter compared to the previous quarter.