Spain's newly installed photovoltaic capacity has decreased for two consecutive years!

According to the 2024 Annual Report on Self generated Photovoltaic Power Generation by the Spanish Association of Renewable Energy Enterprises (APPA Renovables), Spain added 1.431GW of self generated photovoltaic power generation in 2024, a year-on-year decrease of 26.3%, and the cumulative installed capacity in this field reached 8.58GW. In 2023, Spain's self owned photovoltaic capacity increased by 1.94GW, while the increase in 2022 was as high as 2.65GW, indicating that the market has been declining for two consecutive years.

In 2024, the newly installed capacity of photovoltaic self use will mainly come from the industrial and commercial sectors, contributing 1.08 GW, while the residential sector will add 346 MW. As of the end of 2024, the cumulative installed capacity of industrial and commercial photovoltaics reached 6.3GW, and the cumulative installed capacity of residential photovoltaics reached 2.28GW.

From a regional perspective, Catalonia has the highest number of self owned photovoltaic installations, with a cumulative total of 1.52GW; Next is Andalusia with 1.44GW and Valencia Community with 1.2GW.

In addition, the country will add 155MWh of battery energy storage capacity in 2024.

Jon Mac í as, President of the Spanish Association of Renewable Energy Companies, believes that the main reasons for the decline include the end of incentives for the EU's Next Generation program and the recent drop in electricity prices after the energy crisis, despite the fact that the cost of photovoltaic technology has dropped to historic lows.

The association warns that if this trend continues, Spain may not be able to achieve its 2030 target of 19 GW of self owned photovoltaic installations. The association calls on the government to take measures, including simplifying administrative processes, improving grid connectivity, and providing at least 25% reduction in corporate or personal income tax to stimulate market growth.

According to the report by APPA Renovables, in order to achieve the 2030 target, Spain needs to add 1.7 GW of self owned photovoltaic installations annually in the future.