UNEF considers as a positive fact the clarification on non-indexed bilateral contracts which will not be affected by the remuneration adjustment.But is not in favour of the application of measures such as those approved due to their impact on the stability and legal security of the photovoltaic sector and. It reiterates the need for responsibility with the measures, being aware of the foreseeable increase in regulatory risk premiums that they will create.The Spanish Photovoltaic Union recalls that the mentioned regulation will boost future markets and insists that solar is the cheapest renewable energy available in Spain.Adds that the sector will make an effort increasing the PV installed, being the increase of renewables, especially solar, the solution to lower prices.
Madrid, Madrid, 22nd September 2021 | The Spanish Photovoltaic Association, UNEF, welcomes the Government's explanatory note on RDL 17/2021 published last week. This regulation provides for a mechanism to reduce the remuneration received by generation technologies as a result of the amplifying effect of the natural gas price spiral that has been experienced in recent months, the application of which had raised some doubts among producers in the renewables sector with bilateral contracts. The Association hopes that this clarification will also be reflected in the BOE (Official Spanish Gazette).
The Government's note refers to article five of the RDL, referring to the aforementioned reduction, which it clarifies only applies "in an amount proportional to the greater income obtained by these installations as a result of the incorporation into electricity prices on the wholesale market of the value of the price of natural gas by the marginal emitting technologies", so that it makes clear that it does not affect plants that have not integrated this cost neither bilateral contracts not indexed to market prices.
UNEF is not in favour of the application of measures such as those approved in the RDL due to their impact on the stability and legal security of the photovoltaic sector, although it welcomes the fact that non-indexed bilateral contracts will not be affected by the reduction in remuneration and that the regulation will boost future markets. It also reiterates the need for the measures to be applied to be proportionate and to take into account the foreseeable increase in regulatory risk premiums that they may produce, while stressing the importance of not having continuity over time.
It is convinced that the photovoltaic solar energy sector will continue to make a great effort to make available to more and more consumers an energy that, in addition to being clean and cheap, is a pillar technology for promoting a competitive and efficient energy transition that is committed to environmentally sustainable development.
“Solar energy -said Rafael Benjumea, President of UNEF- is the only solution to promote a permanent reduction in the price of electricity. Intervention in its remuneration can have a negative impact on the cost of capital for future investments”.
Going solar is the right way to achieve long-term, permanent results that will lower electricity bills. "It is a technology that can contribute to a reduction in both the final price of electricity and its volatility, as it has a cost structure that reduces the end consumer's exposure to fossil fuel prices and emission rights", adds Rafael Benjumea.
The Association also insists that the current electricity price situation justifies the need for an upward revision of the PV targets in the National Energy and Climate Plan. It considers that it would also be important to complete the next auction by holding a new call to incorporate more PV capacity as soon as possible.
In addition to its competitiveness, photovoltaic energy has additional advantages over other renewables, such as its lower environmental impact, the presence of multiple business players and the territorial homogeneity of the resource, which allows plants to be located in sites close to substations, minimizing the need for new investments in power lines.
UNEF is committed to facilitate the sustainable development and planning of solar plants from both an environmental and socio-economic point of view, targeting excellence and sustainability in their deployment. Hence, before the summer, it launched the Certificate of Excellence in Sustainability and Biodiversity Conservation for photovoltaic plants, for which more than 35 projects have already applied.
Image: ALTEN
About UNEF
The Spanish PV Association (UNEF) is the sectorial association of photovoltaic solar energy in Spain. It is composed by more than 590 companies and entities of all the technological value chain. It represents more than the 85% of the sector’s activity in Spain and brings together almost the whole of: producers, installers, engineering, raw materials producers, modules and components manufacturers and distributors. UNEF also has the presidency and the secretariat of FOTOPLAT, the R&D platform for PV in Spain.