Generate and consume your own renewable energy with your neighbours?
Solar energy is the present and residents’ associations can enjoy the advantages, both economically to reduce their electricity bills and to contribute to protecting the environment.The new subsidies for solar self-consumption installations together with the Horizontal Property Law allow the promotion of self-consumption through photovoltaic installations in homeowners’ associations.
At SolarMente we help you make the switch from fossil fuels to clean energy in a transparent and beneficial process that you and your neighbours will enjoy every step of the way.
Now, let’s take a look at the most frequent doubts when it comes to installing solar panels in neighbourhood communities.
What is collective self-consumption in a community of owners?
To understand how this modality works, it is important to understand the following concepts that are regulated in Royal Decree RD 244/2019:
- Collective self-consumption: when there are several consumers associated with the same generation installation, the figure of collective self-consumption allows for self-consumption installations in communities of owners or industrial estates.
- Self-consumption with surpluses under compensation: when the generation facilities can, in addition to supplying energy for self-consumption, inject surplus energy into the transmission and distribution grids. It is not self-consumed instantaneously. It is fed into the grid so that, at the end of the billing period (maximum one month), the value of this surplus energy is compensated in the consumer’s bill.
Thecollectiveand individual installations connected to the internal grid that meet the conditions described in the Royal Decree are eligible for this modality.
Is it possible to install solar panels on residential buildings?
It is true that there are rooftops where it is difficult to install solar panels, both due to space and location problems.
The ideal place for a solar panel installation is where the sun’s rays can shine perpendicularly for as long as possible during the day. Attention should also be paid to the available space. On a rooftop, it is often limited and shaded, as this will also limit the generating capacity, affecting the profitability of the investment.However, the fact that it is not possible to install PV modules on the rooftop itself should not make you throw in the towel. The law establishes 3 different possibilities that you can use to carry out shared self-consumption:
- Sharing the same residential building, installation of solar panels on the shared roof of our building.
- Installation in the adjoining building, within a radius of 500 metres, where the installation would be located in the neighbouring building.
- Sharing 14 digits of the cadastral reference, where the installation would also be placed in a neighbouring building.
What are the main benefits of installing photovoltaic energy in a community of neighbours?
✅ There is already legislation that allows and regulates it.
✅ They are profitable projects, regardless of subsidies and/or financial aid.
✅ Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are reduced.
✅ You start not to be totally dependent on the electricity companies, becoming partially independent from them and securing a cheap, sustainable and stable energy supply in the long term.
✅ They are profitable projects, regardless of subsidies and/or financial aid.
✅ Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are reduced.
✅ You start not to be totally dependent on the electricity companies, becoming partially independent from them and securing a cheap, sustainable and stable energy supply in the long term.
How do you reach an agreement with all the owners to install solar panels in the community?
Prior discussions with the neighbourhood are essential.
To start with, it is sufficient that one third of the owners vote in favour of placing the installation on the common roof. Those neighbours who do not want to be part of the collective installation are not obliged to participate, nor do they have to be involved.According to the Horizontal Property Law, the agreement must be recorded in the minutes of the (extraordinary) Owners’ Meeting, convened at the request of the president or a quarter of the total number of owners. The vote may be delegated in writing, so a dossier with the votes of one third of the neighbours attached to the minutes will be enough to approve the proposal.
Is a collective self-consumption installation profitable?
The answer is yes.
And it is important to be clear and understand that the proposal revolves around shared self-consumption connected to the electricity grid. This means that the variable costs (related to the energy consumed) will be significantly or totally reduced in the electricity bill, but the fixed costs (related to the contracted power) will always have to be met.It will be the supplier who will decide the price at which electricity is paid and the price at which it is compensated. If this supplier is regulated, the prices will be officially fixed. In this link you will be able to see their daily variation.
How is the energy generated and consumed measured?
In order to be able to measure both the generation of the installation and the consumption of each home, a new meter or smart meter must be installed next to the new installation. This meter will measure the energy generated by the community photovoltaic installation. At home, the consumption of each neighbour will be measured by the meter that everyone has installed in their homes.The difference between the agreed proportional share of the energy generated and the energy consumed will determine the amount of energy to be distributed or, in other words, the amount of energy to be compensated.
How does energy sharing work?
In principle, it is open to the decision of the neighbours concerned if a sharing agreement is reached. In case no agreement is reached, the regulation (according to the law) will be applied, where the distribution will be made according to the contracted power in each of the dwellings.This distribution decision can be changed only once a year when the distributor is informed of this decision.
How can SolarMente help you with the installation of solar panels in your community of neighbours?
At SolarMente we take care of the entire photovoltaic installation. We provide you with the service you need and we take care of all the paperwork so that the residents’ associations can enjoy self-consumption of energy through solar energy in their homes. You will be in the hands of our team of solar processing experts at all times.In addition, through a monitoring app installed on the mobile phone, each of the neighbours will have access to their energy consumption and the savings that their solar panels are generating.
During the 25 years of guaranteed performance of the solar panels, we constantly update the data obtained to maximise savings for all residents for more than two decades.
