Over 80 per cent of Murcia homes could be energy self-sufficient with solar panels

Taking advantage of the Costa Cálida sunshine would lead to low electricity bills and bring huge environmental benefits

Although the need for a transition to sustainable sources of energy is widely agreed on throughout Spain there remains a considerable degree of reluctance on the part of local governments to allow large solar power plants to be built within municipal boundaries, but a report compiled by energy company EDP concludes that in the Region of Murcia the vast majority of homes could easily be converted to become independent in terms of electricity supply.

Last week the Town Hall of Cartagena announced that in the western part of the municipality the only solar panels allowed will be those supplying electricity to the premises where they are installed, scuppering plans to build a solar power farm in the countryside. But the EDP report appears to suggest that with sufficient encouragement most people in the Region of Murcia could generate their own electricity, reducing the need for such large-scale installations considerably while taking advantage of the sunny climate of the Costa Cálida.

According to the company’s figures, 83 per cent of the 224,000 residential apartment blocks in Murcia have sufficient roof space available to install the solar panels needed to meet their demand for electricity, while in the 172,000 detached properties of the Region the proportion is even higher at 87 per cent. In terms of the amount of power which could be generated by residential solar panels, the figure is highest in the municipality of Cartagena at 2,272 MWh, followed by Murcia (1,887), Mazarrón (1,044), Torre Pacheco (503) and Molina de Segura (371).

While bringing about savings in electricity bills, the installation of solar panels on homes throughout Murcia would also result in the amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere being reduced by an estimated 3.4 million tons every year, the equivalent of planting around 256 million trees: these would constitute a forest larger than that of the regional park of Sierra Espuña.

Of course, the main obstacle standing in the way of homeowners is the initial investment required, but grants are available to help with this cost. Private homeowners can obtain funding of up to 40 per cent from the regional government of Murcia through the Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia, and the Town Halls of Cieza, Yecla, Santomera and Molina de Segura offer 40 or 50 per cent reductions in the IBI local property tax for between three and five years.

Image 1: regional government of Andalucía

Image 2: EDP