After 30 months of work, the deSOLaSOL Project gets to its end. The project has allowed analyzing the different existing PV frameworks in the different countries, in order to find which the most influent factors are and which the most adequate options are to stimulate the existence and multiplication of jointly owned PV systems.

In this sense, good practices were identified in each of the countries involved in the project, so we can all learn from their processes and experiences. The results were disseminated in the different countries and in the just celebrated European Meeting.

In general, the main conclusions of the analyses are:
- There are opportunities in each country to develop jointly owned PV plants.
- To have a real increase of such systems professional structures are needed.
- Specific focus on jointly owned PV plants is needed for them to increase and to represent a real alternative in the PV markets between individual projects and big professional projects.

Jointly owned PV plants are a practical example with the following characteristics:

• They are environmentally friendly
  
• They are economically profitable
• They are socially engaged because of the decentralisation that they allow, as well as democratic debates and decisions, and also the possibility for each citizen to participate. 

For all these reasons, we keep convinced that it is necessary that this kind of initiatives keep arising, to continue our way towards sustainability.

More information: www.desolasol.org

Although renewable energies are being supported in all European countries, the situation highly differs from country to country. The review of the different frameworks around the solar PV markets in the countries invited to participate in this project shows the different impacts that legal, administrative and fiscal aspects have in the development of this market.

The legal and the administrative aspects are of high importance when deciding which model to use for the development and support of the solar PV. Even more in this case, where the technical aspects are reasonably common and do not constraint the development of the solar PV sector in any of the reviewed countries.

In particular, in relation to the joint investments and to the participation of individuals in this market, the legal and administrative aspects are determining the level of participation of these players.

A comparison of the different models, together with a description of each country that participates in the project can be seen clicking here.

How to set up a Jointly Owned PV Plant? The answer, obviously, depends on where this PV plant is to be located. No common approach is possible as all countries have

- different legal boundary conditions (laws, legal societies regulations)
- different technical standards
- different financing schemes such as credit lines, collaterals accepted for PV.

We have been studying best practices on how to implement PV Joint ownership in the countries involved in this EU project: Germany, France, Portugal and Spain. With all the results, a handbook on JOPV has been released, where the development of – as far as - existing PV-installations, which are not pilot projects, is described. For those countries without realised joint ownership projects the most probable way of realisation is presented.

The report is completed with a description of the different good practices identified through the project. The research led to the following main conclusions:

• The reasons for doing a JOPV are different from case to case.
• The legal form is changing significantly from one project to other.
• A qualified and professional technical partner is needed to guarantee the correct performance of the plant.
• The financials in terms of returns are quite similar per country according to the market conditions.
• The management: of the project seems to be the key issue in these projects.

In general, the developers and owners of this type of projects are satisfied and proud with the results of their investments, but the complexity of these projects is high and they need an important effort to succeed.

[ Click here to see the full report ]

The German Bundestag has decided at 06.06.2008 the following modifications of the Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz (EEG), in force from the 01.01.2009:

    * For electricity from solar generation on ground based plants the feed-in tariff is 31.94 c€/kWh (§31)
    * For electricity from solar generation on/at buildings or noise barriers the feed-in tariff is (§32)

• Up to 30 kWp, 43.01 c€/kWh
• Up to 100 kWp, 40.91 c€/kWh
• Up to 1 MWp, 39.58 c€/kWh
• From 1 MWp, 33.00 c€/kWh

 

Within the framework of the Project deSOLaSOL, on the 20th of June 2008, the ethical bank Triodos Bank organized the meeting “Supporting Joint-Investment in Solar Photovoltaic Projects”, in Madrid. The partner entities from the four participant countries, Germany, France, Spain and Portugal, discussed about the different ways of attracting the citizenship towards this field and how to make them viable and profitable.

During the introduction, Víctor Viñuales, Manager of the Ecología y Desarrollo Foundation, Spain, emphasized the importance and the impact of this kind of individual initiatives for the joint citizenship action against climate change.

In the first talk, the future challenges for this type of energy were tackled. Georg Hille, Director from Ecovision, Germany, stressed the positive experiences from his country, which could be an example for the PV development in other European countries.

Angela Saade, from Hespul, France, pointed out that the major challenge in her country is the installation of more jointly owned PV plants. Saade emphasized “with the development of the PV sector in France on big roofs, the shared ownership is a good opportunity for energy consumers to take advantage of the scales and participate in the development of this sector”.

Josep Puig, President of the Spanish section of Eurosolar, explained that every citizen has basic energy rights, as a decentralized or distributed energy system, which should be efficient, safe, clean and renewable, and, in return, also a set of responsibilities.

In the case of Portugal, Joana Nascimento, representative from Energia e Ambiente da Arrábida, stressed that in comparison with the other countries in the Project, the PV development in Portugal could be considered scarce. Nevertheless, the last November a new law decree was approved in Portugal to promote micro generation from renewable sources, and this could be the needed tool to favourise this PV development.

“We are aware that the PV future needs the big public access, and it will be part of the solution for the energy problem in Spain”, pointed out Adolfo González from Gamesa Solar, chair of the second round table. Here, several examples of good practices were explained, showing that this kind of plants is highly viable. Among the Spanish examples there was Generaciones Eléctricas Alternativas (GEA). Vicente Maqueda, from GEA, talked about their projects in Villa de don Fadrique (Toledo), a PV plant which started as a rural initiative, almost familiar, and that at the moment is considering to be enlarged with partners like Ecologistas en Acción and Triodos Bank. On his side, Josep Viscasillas, from Ecotècnia (Alstrom Group), explained the broad experience of the company in this kind of jointly owned projects, and tagged that “PV energy is an alternative as long as it has a comparable cost with conventional energy sources”.

In the round table about financing, Miguel Ángel Amores, from the Spanish company Alatec, emphasized the complexity for studying the viability of PV projects. Nevertheless, Mikel García-Prieto, Director of Corporative Banking in Triodos Bank, underlined that this entity “sees an excellent opportunity in this kind of investments, as a well-structured PV project is an attractive investment for a financial entity. Other than pointing out that it is a sustainable investment, he stressed that “it is a profitable alternative that transforms the society”. Alfonso Bolado, from Arçs Cooperativa de Seguros and Richard Wickle, partner of Dikeos Abogados, explained the rol of the insurance and legal consultants, respectively, when financing PV projects.

In the last round table, chaired by Luis Merino, Director of the magazine Energías Renovables, in was discussed which is the rol of the administration and the third sector in this kind of projects. Both the representative from Greenpeace, José Luis Ortega, and the representative of Ecologistas en Acción, Carlos Martín Camarero, expounded their initiatives for the citizenship access to PV energy. Camarero centered his talk on the jointly owned PV plant previously mentioned. Pablo Varela, General Director from Sylcom Solar, outlined an optimistic perspective of the current state of PV technology. Julia Sánchez Valverde, Chief of Service in Castilla La Mancha, closed the round table explaining the important results and future challenges on installed power from renewable source obtained in the region.

To end up, María de Pablo, from Corporative Banking in Triodos Bank, explained the triple character of these jointly owned initiatives. On one side, the participation in a sustainable project, as it is an energy source that respects the environment. Second, they entail a social aspect, as the citizen is participating within a community on a social responsibility act against climate change. And third, she pointed out that it is a profitable investment, as the incomes are ensured by the European legislations which guarantee the production sale with a bonus price. And finally, de Pablo emphasized the importance of organisms like the European Commission promoting decentralized and accessible energy models, not only at European level but also with special relevance in developing countries.

For more information, the event presentations are available at the Project web site www.desolasol.org

From	To	What	Where	Logo / web
01/09/2008	04/09/2008	23nd European Photovoltaic Conference and Exhibition	Valencia
04/09/2008	07/09/2008	Soltec 2008	Hameln, Germany
24/09/2008	26/09/2008	Power Expo 2008	Madrid
16/04/2008	18/04/2008	PV Rome Mediterranean 2008	Barcelona

 
More events: www.desolasol.org/es/noticias/events.asp