We promote solar communities with which to access the benefits of self-consumption

• The solution allows any citizen, whether or not they have a roof, and without the need for initial investment, to access the benefits of self-consumption.
• Users can reduce their energy consumption by up to 40% while contributing to the energy transition.

Iberdrola, in its commitment to innovation in energy solutions, sustainability and commitment to the areas in which it operates, is making progress in the installation of solar communities, a solution that allows citizens to benefit from the advantages of renewable self-consumption without the need for their own installation or investment. 

Thus, users who join an Iberdrola solar community can reduce their energy consumption by up to 40%, while contributing to the energy transition.  

Solar communities allow users to share the 100% renewable energy generated from a single photovoltaic installation, located a maximum of two kilometres from their home. Extremadura, Castile and León and the Valencian Community are some of the autonomous communities where Iberdrola currently has installations of these characteristics.

In the last few months, the first solar community in Valencia and the one in Villanueva de la Serena (Badajoz) have been launched. Located in the Sagrada Familia Patronato de Juventudes Obreras school, the first solar community in Valencia offers 170 residents of the Benimaclet neighbourhood the opportunity to save on their electricity bills by consuming locally part of the energy produced by 233 panels with a total power of 105 kilowatts, enough to produce 146 MWh annually, which will prevent the emission of around 686 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere over the next 25 years.

The small photovoltaic system installed on the roof of the Electricidad La Serena building in Villanueva de la Serena (Badajoz) will prevent the emission of around 480 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere over the next 25 years.  In total, 135 local residents will have access to the 160 panels with a total power of 72.8 kW, enough to produce 108 MWh per year. 

Also in Extremadura, the company will soon launch the first solar community for an entire village in Cedillo (Cáceres). Residents who wish to join the first phase of the energy community have until 1 March to register both in person at the town hall and digitally. Thanks to the small photovoltaic plants installed by Iberdrola in two municipal buildings and on land donated by the town council, enough energy equivalent to 50% of the town's annual consumption will be generated. 

In Valladolid, in the first months of 2023, 80 families in the Delicias neighbourhood will have access to the 115 panels installed at the Nuestra Señora del Carmen school. Through this solar community, which has a total power of 52.33 kW, the residents will avoid the emission of around 400 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere over the next 30 years, while at the same time saving on their electricity bills. 

The company has also recently announced that it will install its first solar community in Castellón. The photovoltaic plant, which will serve 200 residents, will be located on the roof of the Josep Nules Cooperative building and will have a total capacity of 100 kilowatts (kW), enough to produce 144.4 MWh annually, which will prevent the emission of around 1,675 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere over the next 25 years.

Pioneer in self-consumption

In its commitment to accelerating the energy transition and developing new products to improve energy efficiency and savings, in 2015 Iberdrola became the first company in its sector to integrate self-consumption solutions into its range of services. 

Today, eight years later, Iberdrola has consolidated its position as the benchmark company in the sector with a 200% increase in its self-consumption portfolio in 2022. Through Smart Solar, Iberdrola offers services for all types of customers, from domestic consumers to large industrial customers.

Self-consumption solar systems can mean an average saving on annual bills of 30% in the case of residents' associations; 50% for companies and businesses; and 70% in single-family homes. These savings are produced in three ways: the energy produced by the installation that the user does not have to buy, compensation for the surplus energy not consumed, which is fed into the grid, and savings due to lower taxes.

As for the possibility of compensating the energy dumped into the grid, Iberdrola customers do not have any type of floor for its valuation, so that their bill can be zero euros. In addition, it has the Solar Cloud service, which, in the event that there are still surpluses, allows them to be diverted for consumption in another residence.