Regulatory Proposals for the Development of Renewable Energy Self-Consumption in Spain

Abstract

COP22 called for political commitment to combat climate change by using low-carbon energy sources. The European Commission recognises that industrial and domestic sectors have the possibility of consuming their own electricity, due to the level of development and innovation of most Member States. The rise in electricity prices, together with the decrease in the cost of renewable generation technologies, results in estimations foreseeing up to a 75% increase of the self-consumption rate in European households. However, the lack of regulation on this issue at European level has derived in different regulations being approved across Member States. In Spain, Royal Decree 900/2015 has been considered too restrictive, in the sense of precluding the financial feasibility of self-consumption systems' deployment, whereas other European countries with poorer renewable energy resources are experiencing a higher growth in this field.