The Cabildo de Gran Canaria has set the deadline for those wishing to request aid to install photovoltaic panels in homes for self-consumption using clean and affordable solar power offering up to €150,000 to cover up to half the project costs, an opportunity that the island government is urging anyone already thinking about the advantages of being powered by the sun to take full advantage of, like so many homes in Germany and the United Kingdom do without even having a climate so well suited to the technology as that of Gran Canaria.
This is the Cabildo’s first round of aid being offered to promote installations of solar energy in homes open to owners and neighborhood residnet communities by consulting the Gran Canaria Insular Council of Energy at https://energiagrancanaria.com/ until December 31.
This initial round of funding is set to be followed by others, not only for residential housing, but also for businesses, as the overall objective is to democratise energy so that individuals are “nourished by clean energy such as the sun” and, “reduce the importation of oil to Gran Canaria, where no less than 1.2 billion tons per year is imported” an amount that the island government, under the outstanding leadership of President Antonio Morales, aims to reduce “by half” by implementing the measures proposed by one Professor Roque Calero in a study commissioned by the Cabildo, in which they want to promote involvement of all parties including the island’s: institutions, entrepreneurship, scientific community and citizens.
The aid provided for in this funding call can reach up to €3,000 for an installation of up to 3 kilowatts of power at the rate of €1 per watt. The cost of installation varies according to the type of solar panels and how it is assembled, averaging around €2.50 per watt. This average allows the calculation of an indicative installation outlay of between 1,000 and 2,000 volts to cover the needs of an average family, dependant on the number of family members or consumption elements in the house, totalling between €2,500 and €5,000 per household. With around 250 watts per solar panel, this would involve installing between four and eight panels for the average household.
The installation needs permission to be requested from the Regional Ministry of Industry and a request to modify the contract with Endesa, procedures which can be carried out by the interested party, an installer to be commissioned to fit the solar panels, if they have been acquired at any normal hardware store or one of the specialised companies that can also handle the entire procedure.
To qualify for these subsidies, the solar panels must comply with European standards, be approved and have a minimum efficiency of 0.16 kilowatts per square metre.
As for specialised companies, Gran Canaria has some thirty licensed organisations under the umbrella of the Association of Renewable Energy Companies of Las Palmas which can be consulted through the website http://www.aserpa.es/2014/07 /
These Municipal Council grants are compatible with grants from other administrations as long as the total sum received does not exceed 100% of the installation cost. Interested parties can find more information at https://www.
