Catalonia leads the way in collective self-consumption thanks to Endesa
With economic and environmental benefits, citizen participation in energy communities also democratizes access to renewables.
Catalonia has established itself as the leading region in Spain for collective self-consumption, a system that allows several households, businesses, or public facilities to share the energy generated by a single photovoltaic installation. This model, which was virtually unknown just a few years ago, is now a key pillar for advancing towards a fairer, more sustainable, and more participatory energy transition.
What is self-consumption and what does collective self-consumption involve?
Generating the same electricity through solar panels and in the same place where you will consume it (in your home or business) is the basis of self-consumption. Currently, collective self-consumption is limited to collective supplies being located a maximum of 500 meters from consumers, and 1,000 meters if the installation is on a roof. The administrative, technical, and economic conditions that are established... The way surplus energy is compensated always results in lower bills, which is always great news.
Collective self-consumption involves generating solar energy through an installation—generally located on a communal roof, a municipal building, or a company's roof—and distributing it among several consumers connected to the grid. Unlike individual self-consumption, this model allows neighbors in the same building, businesses in an urban block, companies in an industrial park, or public facilities to benefit from the same photovoltaic system. Consumption is automatically allocated according to pre-agreed coefficients, which are monitored by the distributor, guaranteeing maximum transparency and efficient operation. Certain tax advantages depending on the municipality and the gradual amortization of the installation will increase the potential savings.
Endesa, leading the way
Endesa is a distributor and facilitator through its network subsidiary, e-distribución. In Catalonia, it leads the way in self-consumption with more than 13,000 collective self-consumption connections, a figure that represents almost 44% of the national total as of the end of October, with a 39% increase compared to a year ago, versus a 9% increase in individual consumption. In Spain, there are already nearly 30,000 collective installations in operation and more than 390,000 in total.
But what do you need to install a photovoltaic self-consumption system? It's much simpler than it seems. You just need space to install the panels, a DC inverter, and, if you want to maximize efficiency, you can add a storage battery. It's also possible to have an individual charger for your own vehicle. In this way, you can achieve savings of more than 50% on your electricity bill.
Economic and environmental benefits
The benefits of collective self-consumption are numerous. Economically, there are two ways to save: firstly, consumers use the energy generated by their own installations, which is cheaper than electricity purchased from the grid; secondly, any surplus energy is fed back into the grid and credited towards the final bill, further reducing the cost. Environmentally, investing in solar energy and electrification makes a decisive contribution to reducing emissions and decreasing dependence on external energy sources. And socially, this model democratizes access to renewables: it allows individuals and communities who cannot install solar panels on their homes—due to lack of space, resources, or technical requirements—to actively participate in the energy transition. In this context, Endesa's role is key. As an electricity distributor, its function is to ensure that all these installations are integrated safely and efficiently into the grid. This involves adapting infrastructure, digitizing processes, and reinforcing sections to absorb new distributed generation. Distribution companies are, in fact, the first to be interested in promoting the electrification of demand—both residential and commercial—because it is the most direct way to reduce the use of fossil fuels and move towards a decarbonized economy. They thus act as an essential facilitator to ensure that self-consumption is not only possible, but also scalable. This effort requires continued investment to prepare the grid for future challenges: from the increasing integration of photovoltaic installations to the expansion of electric vehicles, electric heating and cooling, and new industrial applications.
