Urban Planning, Ecological Transition, Urban Services and Housing

Moment Solar Barcelona is an initiative to help local people install solar panelling on their homes. Households opting for self-consumption can get their power bills down by as much as 25%, representing a saving of some 200 euros a year.

One of the goals of Moment Solar is to get some 2,000 families to join in with the initiative in 2022. This would mean a hundred owner/tenant communities being able to generate their own electricity through solar technology. To achieve this, the Barcelona Energy Agency, the Property Administrators’ Association of Barcelona and Lleida and the Barcelona Installers’ Guild have signed an agreement to promote greater interest and to convince and support owner/tenant communities throughout the process.

Adopting a door-to-door approach with a hundred communities of homeowners, a group of promotors will explain the initiative with those in charge and, where there is an interest, offer the possibility of an information session for the community in the company of the Installers’ Guild. A simple majority in a vote among a community will be enough to get the project in motion, as long as the rooftop is suitable and structurally sound.

Once the community signs the contract, their chosen installer will process the necessary permits and the possible subsidies available, carry out the work, ensure it meets legal requirments and manage and maintain it if the community agrees to it.

Energy savings and environmental impact

Besides the savings that come with a community self-consumption installation, local residents signing up to the initiative will get a 50% discount on their property tax in the first three years after the initial investment, with 95% of the overall cost of the work permit also discounted. Support will also be provided to access all available subsidies so that the cost of the installation can be effectively recovered in two to three years.

The Barcelona Energy Agency will also be running a campaign with a team of information staff to explain the project and help installations become reality. The Property Administrators’ Association of Barcelona will help reach owner/tenant communities and the Barcelona Installers’ Guild will ensure professional installations which meet all technical and legal requirements at a reasonable price.

This agreement comes as one of the specific measures in the Climate Emergency Declaration of 15 January 2020, one of the goals of which is the generation of 10MWp in renewable energies from the rooftops of minor tertiary buildings and residential blocks by 2025. This option provides independence in the face of price changes, reduces the environmental impact, helps towards the energy transition and combats climate change.