Iberdrola España and the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares to create up to 32 solar communities
- For 1,500 families, they will be able to reduce their electricity consumption by 40% and make use of renewable self-consumption without having to make any investment
- They will be on churches and other non-protected buildings in the Diocese’s 54 municipalities
Iberdrola España and the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares have reached an agreement to create up to 32 solar communities in the 54 municipalities under its jurisdiction, located east of the Community of Madrid, which will enable more than 1,500 families to reduce their electricity consumption by 40% and access renewable self-consumption, without the need for their own installation or any type of investment or intervention.
The solar communities will be located on churches and other non-protected buildings belonging to the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares, which will offer their roofs to the company in exchange for a rental fee, a percentage of the energy generated by the installation and access for their neighbours to local clean energy, which will also enable them to save on their electricity bills.
The 2,182 solar panels will have a total combined power of up to 1,200 kilowatts (kW), enough to produce more than 1,728 MWh annually, which will help prevent more than 10,000 tonnes of CO₂ from being released into the atmosphere over the next 30 years.
To benefit from the different solar communities, customers must live within two kilometres of one of the locations where the panels will be installed and to sign up to gain access to a percentage of the energy generated by the installation. Each household will be able to save up to 30% on their electricity bill.
Antonio Armengont
Commercial representative for Iberdrola España in Madrid
‘This agreement with the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares offers the opportunity to bring local renewable energy generation to more than 1,500 families in the eastern part of Madrid, which, in addition to promoting sustainability by reducing carbon footprint, allows us to engage with the local economy, since it is a solution that also contributes to savings on energy bills’, explains Antonio Armengot, commercial representative for Iberdrola España in Madrid.
‘This initiative was promoted by our Secretariat for the Care of Creation, whose goal is to stimulate reflection and action among the faithful of the diocese in caring for creation, guiding believers and Catholic institutions towards a greater commitment to the environmental dimensions of their daily activities, aware that nature reflects the beauty and greatness of the Creator’, says Monsignor Antonio Prieto Lucena, bishop of the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares.
Accessibility without investment
In its commitment to accelerating the energy transition and developing new products that enable the electrification of the economy to improve efficiency and savings for families, Iberdrola España became the first company in its industry to integrate self-consumption into its service offering in 2015.
Given that two-thirds of the population in Spain live in high-rise buildings, which often makes it difficult to install panels, in 2019 the company included collective self-consumption solutions in its product offering, allowing any customer, whether they have a roof of their own or not, to access the benefits of self-consumption without having to make any investment or install anything.
Customers in this segment can also take part in the Solar Plan, a competitive electricity tariff during hours when there is no sun, which is when more energy needs to be consumed from off the electrical networks.
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