The growth in the solar PV industry is, and will be, helped by a number of factors:
Political Support – Driven by the need to fulfill the directives
of the Kyoto targets.
Social Support – Creation of clean energy, creation of employment.
Geography – Accessible land in low-density areas benefiting from flexible
planning constraints.
Climate – Ideal locations for solar industries with high ratios of
annual radiation.
Favourable Economic Regime – Various Spanish decrees have been introduced
since 1994 to create a favourable economic climate for renewable generation
of electricity. This combined with subsidies and stable prices has allowed
significant investment and finance in the sector.
Demand Sensitivity – Solar PV provides peak power during the summer
months when demand is at its highest.
Characteristics of Solar PV Projects
Although there are a number of mega-solar parks under development (>5MW),
most of the development is still the result of smaller projects of 1-2MW.
Until fairly recently most solar projects have been developed utilising
fixed solar panels, however, technical advancements by utilising tracking
systems have shown production to yield in excess of 40% over static systems.
The technologies are now sufficiently mature to mitigate maintenance risks.
Spanish Policy on Renewable Energy
The main driver behind Spain’s renewable energy target comes from
the Kyoto protocol. Spain is one of the countries least likely to fulfill
its obligations under this protocol. This is largely due to the soaring
energy demand arising from economic growth over the past 15 years. As
a result, Spain needs to significantly reduce its CO2 emissions in the
near future, and one of the key ways to do this will be the growth in renewables.
Although wind is by far the largest of current sectors in this expected
increase in renewable generation, solar PV is a crucial part of the plan.