The Government approves 1.32 billion euros for self-consumption, batteries and renewable air conditioning.
The programs will have an initial budget of 660 million euros, which can be increased to 1,320 million euros as the autonomous communities exhaust their initial allocations.
The subsidies will be divided into six programs that will distribute a maximum of 900 million for self-consumption, 220 million for storage behind the meter and 200 million for air conditioning and hot water with renewables.
These actions will allow the construction of 1,850 MW of renewable energy, including heating and cooling in more than 40,000 homes.
More than 25,000 jobs will be created, GDP will grow by more than 1.7 million per million of aid andCO2 emissions will fall by more than one million tons per year.
Through the approval of Royal Decree 477/2021, of June 29, the Council of Ministers, at the proposal of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), has approved a Royal Decree to grant 660 million euros, extendable to 1,320 million, in aid for self-consumption facilities (up to 900 million), storage behind the meter (up to 220 million) and air conditioning with renewable energies (up to 200 million). The autonomous communities and cities will disseminate them throughout the national territory until 2023, in accordance with transparent and objective criteria, and will allow the creation of more than 25,000 jobs, both direct and indirect.
These programs, charged to the budget of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, are the first large-scale lines at state level aimed specifically at self-consumption and storage. They were agreed with the autonomous communities and cities at the Energy Sector Conference held on May 12. The Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE) will be in charge of coordinating the actions and monitoring their evolution, in accordance with the procedure successfully used since 2019.
The 660 million initially budgeted will be increased, as the initial amounts assigned to each Autonomous Community are executed, up to 1,320 million of the total program; the autonomous communities and cities must commit 80% of the initial budget during the first year or they will have to repay half of the amount not committed within 15 months of the publication of this Royal Decree in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
The aid will promote the creation of local jobs and improve the competitiveness of companies and households by reducing their energy costs. They will also contribute to achieving the clean energy and emissions reduction targets set by Spain, whose Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) foresees a 42% share of renewables in final energy use by 2030. In the case of electricity, clean generation will be combined with 6 GW of storage capacity to facilitate management of the electricity system. On the thermal side, the 18.9% penetration of heating and cooling supplies in 2019 should double by the end of this decade.
The 660 million, with a conservative estimate, will allow the construction of 1,850 MW of renewable generation, including the substitution of fossil fuels for renewable energy in heating and cooling in more than 40,000 homes. Likewise, they will generate more than 25,000 direct and indirect jobs, exceeding 45,000 jobs when including induced jobs; GDP will grow from 1.7 to 3.2 million for each million euros of materialized aid. In addition, the facilities to be executed will reduceCO2 emissions by more than one million tons per year and, being in inhabited areas, will reduce the impact on areas without human activity.
Six grant programs
This aid package will be articulated through six programs. The first three are aimed at specific economic sectors, based on data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) for 2019, prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, while the last three, aimed primarily at housing, take as a reference the number of principal dwellings or households, also according to INE data.
It is important to point out that the distribution of the budget among the Autonomous Communities and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla is only for the initial allocation of the program. For future credit extensions, the execution of the budget and the existing demand in each territory will be taken into account.
- Program 1. Self-consumption and storage in the service sector. 120 million (20 million for storage).
- Self-consumption and storage in other productive sectors, such as industry or agriculture and livestock. Endowed with 175 million (25 million for storage).
- Incorporation of storage in existing self-consumption in economic sectors. It will distribute 45 million among the Autonomous Communities and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla.
- Self-consumption and storage in the residential sector, the public sector and the third sector. With an allocation of 215 million (15 million for storage.
- Incorporation of self-consumption storage in the residential sector, public sector and third sector, with a budget of five million.
- Program 6. Air conditioning and sanitary hot water obtained with renewables in the residential sector, including public subsidized housing. It will have 100 million.
The investment in 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, may be subsidized.
In order to facilitate the impact of the aid on the national productive fabric and orient it towards environmental improvement, all actions over 100 kW must include a public strategic plan indicating the origin and place of manufacture of the equipment and its effect on SMEs and the self-employed. The plan will also detail information on the criteria for selecting equipment and materials based on their environmental impact and durability – such as manufacturer’s warranties – and a justification that they comply with the European principle of not causing significant harm.
On the other hand, in order to increase information and awareness in society, all subsidized facilities will have to include a monitoring system. In companies and administrations, their performance will have to be reflected on a screen visible to the public or workers; in homes it will be accessible via a mobile device.
Aid intensity
The aid intensity will vary depending on the beneficiary and the type of installation. For companies, a percentage of the initial investment volume – up to a maximum – will be allocated, while for individuals and public administrations a fixed percentage will be subsidized.
In the case of photovoltaic solar energy, aid will range from 15% for a large company to 45% for an SME or a small system of less than 10 kW; individuals will benefit from 40% (rising to 50% for collective self-consumption systems) and public administrations from 70%. The removal of asbestos roofs and the installation of canopies to optimize the use of space, as is often the case in parking lots, will be valued.
In the case of wind power, the subsidy will range from 20% for the largest installation in large companies to 50% in smaller systems for SMEs; individuals will get 50% and public administrations 70%.
For behind-the-meter storage facilities, which will generally be batteries, subsidies for companies will vary between 45% and 65%, depending on the size of the organization, while individuals, administrations and third sector entities will be able to benefit from 70%.
In air conditioning with renewables, the subsidy will depend on the technology used -such as biomass or geothermal-, and will range from 40% to 70%. Public administrations owning residential buildings will be able to obtain 70%.
Additional amount for small municipalities
In order to meet the demographic challenge, all the above items will be increased by an additional 5% in those municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants and in municipalities with less than 20,000 inhabitants in rural areas whose different population centers have less than 5,000 inhabitants.
The lines of aid for individuals, self-employed and public administrations will come into force the day after the publication of the Royal Decree in the Official Gazette. The recipients of the aid will have a period of 18 months to justify the construction of the facilities from the moment they are notified of their concession.
The programs will have an initial budget of 660 million euros, which can be increased to 1,320 million euros as the autonomous communities exhaust their initial allocations.
The subsidies will be divided into six programs that will distribute a maximum of 900 million for self-consumption, 220 million for storage behind the meter and 200 million for air conditioning and hot water with renewables.
These actions will allow the construction of 1,850 MW of renewable energy, including heating and cooling in more than 40,000 homes.
More than 25,000 jobs will be created, GDP will grow by more than 1.7 million per million of aid andCO2 emissions will fall by more than one million tons per year.
Through the approval of Royal Decree 477/2021, of June 29, the Council of Ministers, at the proposal of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), has approved a Royal Decree to grant 660 million euros, extendable to 1,320 million, in aid for self-consumption facilities (up to 900 million), storage behind the meter (up to 220 million) and air conditioning with renewable energies (up to 200 million). The autonomous communities and cities will disseminate them throughout the national territory until 2023, in accordance with transparent and objective criteria, and will allow the creation of more than 25,000 jobs, both direct and indirect.
These programs, charged to the budget of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, are the first large-scale lines at state level aimed specifically at self-consumption and storage. They were agreed with the autonomous communities and cities at the Energy Sector Conference held on May 12. The Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE) will be in charge of coordinating the actions and monitoring their evolution, in accordance with the procedure successfully used since 2019.
The 660 million initially budgeted will be increased, as the initial amounts assigned to each Autonomous Community are executed, to 1,320 million of the total program; the autonomous communities and cities must commit 80% of the initial budget during the first year or they will have to reimburse half of the amount not committed within 15 months of the publication of this Royal Decree in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
The aid will promote the creation of local jobs and improve the competitiveness of companies and households by reducing their energy costs. They will also contribute to achieving the clean energy and emissions reduction targets set by Spain, whose Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) foresees a 42% share of renewables in final energy use by 2030. In the case of electricity, clean generation will be combined with 6 GW of storage capacity to facilitate management of the electricity system. On the thermal side, the 18.9% penetration of heating and cooling supplies in 2019 should double by the end of this decade.
The 660 million, with a conservative estimate, will allow the construction of 1,850 MW of renewable generation, including the substitution of fossil fuels for renewable energy in heating and cooling in more than 40,000 homes. Likewise, they will generate more than 25,000 direct and indirect jobs, exceeding 45,000 jobs when including induced jobs; GDP will grow from 1.7 to 3.2 million for each million euros of materialized aid. In addition, the facilities to be executed will reduceCO2 emissions by more than one million tons per year and, being in inhabited areas, will reduce the impact on areas without human activity.
Six grant programs
This aid package will be articulated through six programs. The first three are aimed at specific economic sectors, based on data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) for 2019, prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, while the last three, aimed primarily at housing, take as a reference the number of principal dwellings or households, also according to INE data.
It is important to point out that the distribution of the budget among the Autonomous Communities and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla is only for the initial allocation of the program. For future credit extensions, the execution of the budget and the existing demand in each territory will be taken into account.
- Program 1. Self-consumption and storage in the service sector. 120 million (20 million for storage).
- Self-consumption and storage in other productive sectors, such as industry or agriculture and livestock. Endowed with 175 million (25 million for storage).
- Incorporation of storage in existing self-consumption in economic sectors. It will distribute 45 million among the Autonomous Communities and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla.
- Self-consumption and storage in the residential sector, the public sector and the third sector. With an allocation of 215 million (15 million for storage.
- Incorporation of self-consumption storage in the residential sector, public sector and third sector, with a budget of five million.
- Program 6. Air conditioning and sanitary hot water obtained with renewables in the residential sector, including public subsidized housing. It will have 100 million.
The investment in 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, may be subsidized.
In order to facilitate the impact of the aid on the national productive fabric and orient it towards environmental improvement, all actions over 100 kW must include a public strategic plan indicating the origin and place of manufacture of the equipment and its effect on SMEs and the self-employed. The plan will also detail information on the criteria for selecting equipment and materials based on their environmental impact and durability – such as manufacturer’s warranties – and a justification that they comply with the European principle of not causing significant harm.
On the other hand, to increase information and awareness in society, all subsidized facilities will have to include a monitoring system. In companies and administrations, their performance will have to be reflected on a screen visible to the public or workers; in homes it will be accessible via a mobile device.
Aid intensity
The aid intensity will vary depending on the beneficiary and the type of installation. For companies, a percentage of the initial investment volume – up to a maximum – will be allocated, while for individuals and public administrations a fixed percentage will be subsidized.
In the case of photovoltaic solar energy, aid will range from 15% for a large company to 45% for an SME or a small system of less than 10 kW; individuals will benefit from 40% (rising to 50% for collective self-consumption systems) and public administrations from 70%. The removal of asbestos roofs and the installation of canopies to optimize the use of space, as is often the case in parking lots, will be valued.
In the case of wind power, the subsidy will range from 20% for the largest installation in large companies to 50% in smaller systems for SMEs; individuals will obtain 50% and public administrations 70%.
For behind-the-meter storage facilities, which will generally be batteries, subsidies for companies will vary between 45% and 65%, depending on the size of the organization, while individuals, administrations and third sector entities will be able to benefit from 70%.
In air conditioning with renewables, the subsidy will depend on the technology used -such as biomass or geothermal-, and will range from 40% to 70%. Public administrations owning residential buildings will be able to obtain 70%.
Additional amount for small municipalities
In order to meet the demographic challenge, all the above items will be increased by an additional 5% in those municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants and in municipalities with less than 20,000 inhabitants in rural areas whose different population centers have less than 5,000 inhabitants.
The lines of aid for individuals, self-employed and public administrations will come into force the day after the publication of the Royal Decree in the Official Gazette. The recipients of the aid will have a period of 18 months to justify the construction of the facilities from the moment they are notified of their concession.
