Spain Jumps 25% in 2022 For Large Ground-mounted PV Projects!

Spain is expected to install more than 4GW of large-scale ground-mounted solar energy in 2022, up 25% on last year, according to José Donoso, head of Spanish PV association UNEF.

Donoso welcomed recent efforts by the Spanish government to address permitting bottlenecks to accelerate the development of PV projects.

The Spanish government approved measures in March to allow solar PV projects with a capacity of up to 150MW to receive fast-track approval as part of a series of measures to help ease the energy crisis.

The Spanish government plans to hold the country's fourth renewable energy tender on November 22. Spain wants to allocate 1.8GW of solar PV capacity to help reduce electricity prices and gas consumption.

A 50MW solar PV plant in Spain

However, Donoso warns that "tenders are not so attractive for many companies now" due to high electricity prices in the spot market, and "we are very curious to know what will happen, how many companies will participate and what prices will be quoted."

Solar companies in Spain are building solar portfolios through a mix of projects, some of which are entering the spot market and others backed by power purchase agreements (PPAs) or tender contracts.

Last year, almost 3GW of installed solar power in Spain was achieved through PPA-based systems, according to trade association SolarPower Europe. In a report published last year, the association described Spain as "probably the world's largest unsubsidised solar market".

Earlier this year, power company and developer Iberdrola struck a high-profile deal when it signed a long-term PPA to supply power to PepsiCo through its Francisco Pizarro photovoltaic project, which according to Iberdrola was commissioned in August and is the largest solar plant in Europe.

Donoso said that while industrial companies in Spain are increasingly interested in securing tariffs and signing PPAs, they tend to want short-term agreements, while solar companies seek agreements with longer terms.

Spain's upcoming renewable energy tender follows two tenders for 2021, the first of which saw more than 2GW and 866MW of solar PV projects signed respectively. The third tender was held last month and allocated 31MW of distributed PV projects.

In the tender later this month, developers will sign a 12-year contract at the price they are willing to charge for the electricity generated by their plants.

The government hopes to sign up 1.8GW of solar and 1.5GW of wind projects, thus allowing for expansion and a mix of existing projects. If these quotas are not filled, capacity can be transferred to other technologies.

Spain aims to provide support for at least 10GW of solar PV by 2025 through the renewable energy tender mechanism.

In terms of incremental household solar in Spain, installations increased last year to around 250MW in 2021, Donoso said. UNEF expects this figure to rise again in 2022.

Headwinds for the Spanish solar sector include the challenges of permitting and integration with the grid and energy storage." We are at a very exciting time, with many possibilities and many challenges."