And the sun again

Together with water, the sun seems to be the beginning and the end of everything. This isn't surprising. Solar radiation is responsible for heating and evaporating water and forming the complex and fascinating framework of the climate of our planet. Whether or not they remain in balance will determine humanity's future. Efforts to stem global warming have been set down in international agreements to catalyse the energy transition, moving from polluting to green energy sources as quickly as possible. The sun - which was responsible for nurturing ancient civilisations in the Earth's temperate regions - has become even more important in this scenario. It is becoming a transforming factor again, a lever for decarbonisation of the economy, through photovoltaic energy. This is the most scalable of all renewable energy sources, capable of powering everything from a small single-family home to an entire city.

"If you ask me what defines photovoltaic energy today, I would say it is sustainability. We all know we need to curb climate change, and that solar energy undoubtedly makes this possible for companies that have decarbonisation plans", says Jaume Macià, from B2B at Endesa X. Jaume highlights another advantage of this source of renewable energy: "Independence from the grid. You can increase the power of your installation without needing to improve the grid. This is very helpful for projects in rural environments and unpopulated areas where there is insufficient infrastructure to increase power levels. This happens, for example, in irrigation schemes that previously relied, in part, on diesel generators."

And photovoltaic has a capacity that is difficult for other technologies to match for installations focused on self-consumption, whether for companies or individuals: adaptability. "We are a tailor-made fit for the customer. We seek to minimise the surplus, guaranteeing the maximum self-consumption. This guarantees the highest economic return," Jaume explains. "Our minimum installation for homes is 2 KW of power, which means five solar panels. But from there we can adapt to the needs of the house, the type of roof and its usable surface area," says Yeray Aragonès, of B2C at Endesa X. The investment is paid off in "between five and seven years," depending on the price of energy at the time. The useful life of the facilities is 25 years.

North or south?

"In general, there is no major difference. It is true that there is more of the resource from Madrid to the south, including the Canary Islands, but we have initiatives that work really well in the north. This also depends on the characteristics of this project. Obviously, initiatives are more profitable when the main consumption is in the central part of the day. Then we need the facilities to have a good orientation, to have the ideal location for the panels, etc.", says Jaume Macià.

And latitude is no problem for large solar energy installations that are only interested in producing energy to feed into the national energy grid. "If we are talking about the Iberian Peninsula, latitude is not the main obstacle for a photovoltaic plant, as, with some very specific exceptions, the resource is available," says Haro Alarcón, Head of Solar Plant Operation at Enel Green Power Spain. "What does matter," he continues, "is that it is more difficult for us to find significant expanses of flat land without forestry - which is the ideal for producing solar energy - in the north." Once we find a suitable location, large photovoltaic plants can help improve biodiversity by creating reserve areas and can drive the economy in rural settings by creating industrial environments where they don't currently exist.

The new National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) sets the objective for Spain of having installed more than 80 GW of photovoltaic solar power by 2030, of which 19 GW is self-consumption, compared to the less than 50 GW that featured in the 2021 plan. These 80 GW, if they are achieved, will make solar energy the main source of renewable energy, ahead of wind power. "It is clear that there is room for growth. But this growth must be accompanied by investment to increase and improve the transmission capacity of the electricity grid in some areas of Spain," says Francisco Haro.