Spain's Photovoltaic Installations Expected to Slow in 2024 Amid Financing Challenges

Spain’s new installed PV capacity this year looks set to fall short of the record 5.8 GW set in 2023, Spanish PV association Unef said on Wednesday.

Jose Donoso, director general of Unef, said at the launch of the 2023 PV report that at present, it seems unlikely that we will reach last year's figures. Spain added 2.1GW of new PV capacity in the first half of this year, in addition to installing about 740MW of rooftop PV. However, the installed capacity of new PV power plants usually grows faster in the second half of the year.

Meanwhile, the authorization for 34GW of new green power plants awarded in July is likely to boost the country’s PV capacity over the next three years. Spain will have a very important investment cycle over the next three years, and the industry is not slowing down.

Donoso’s comments come as Spain’s energy ministry wants renewable energy to account for 75% of an estimated 214GW of installed capacity by 2030. To achieve this, the country is targeting 62GW of wind and 76GW of solar PV capacity.

Donoso warned that under current conditions of low prices and volatility, many new projects will fail over the next three years due to financing problems, a situation that will worsen as more renewables are built.

The head of Unef said that projects of companies that are more dependent on bank financing will be most affected. However, power purchase agreements (PPAs) and auctions can offset the uncertainty of financing new projects.

Spain remains the second largest country in Europe in terms of installed PV capacity, behind only Germany, and is the “king” market for power purchase agreements on the continent, with 4.46GW of projects signed last year.

Meanwhile, new rooftop PV construction fell from 2.5GW in 2022 to 1.7GW last year, with the country’s total cumulative installed capacity now standing at 7GW, according to Unef.

The industry stabilized after a rooftop PV boom in 2022, thanks to high energy prices and subsidies provided during the energy crisis. Unef also called for new incentives for rooftop PV, otherwise the 19GW target set in the National Energy and Climate Plan by 2030 would be at risk.