2019 was the best year in the Spanish PV industry history as, for the first time since 2008, Spain became the leading market at European level and the sixth worldwide. This is one of the key messages of UNEF’s Annual Report 2020, The Spanish PV industry towards a new era, presented on July 15th.
In 2019, a record of new installed capacity was achieved, with 4,201 MW of new capacity for utility-scale plants and 459 MW of new capacity for self-consumption projects.
This growth in the PV sector has had a positive impact also from an economic and social point of view. In 2019 the direct contribution of the PV sector to the Spanish GDP was of 3,220 million € (0.26%), in line with the upward trend of previous years (0.22% in 2018 and 0.20% in 2017). Moreover, the economic impact of the industry exports was of 3,540 million € in 2019, 54% more than in 2018, and the sector created a total of 58,699 jobs, of which 17,194 were direct, 21,292 indirect and 20,213 induced, respectively.
The Spanish solar PV sector can be a key driver of the country’s economy recovery, as its contributes not only to the generation of employment and direct growth through its investments but, thanks to the high degree of competitiveness in the price of the electricity it generates, it also gives a key competitive advantage to the Spanish industry.
The Spanish PV industry calls for political consensus to quickly approve the draft Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition, which should allow the pending aspects of the European Directive on Renewable Energies to be transposed into the Spanish regulatory framework. This Climate Change Law is a fundamental element to provide the sector with stability and security and to attract the necessary investments to install all the photovoltaic capacity planned for the coming years, which can boost the country's economic recovery.
Download UNEF’s Annual Report “The Spanish PV industry towards a new era” (in Spanish)