Our Director of Sustainability and Intra-group Innovation, Santiago Sanjuán, and our energy communities strategy manager, Ramón Gero, participated in a conference organised by ADECA on Local Energy Communities and self-consumption; as well as their implementation in industrial zones. At this meeting, as specialists in the development of integrated solutions in the field of shared self-consumption, they explained the benefits of grouped self-consumption. They also presented the “turnkey” installation process offered to companies by Eiffage Energía. During this presentation they highlighted the technical keys and advantages of self-consumption installations. They covered the topics of energy savings, sustainability and efficiency. This initiative shows ADECA’s commitment to achieving the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This commitment is shared by Eiffage Energía, , which puts the move towards a low-carbon model at the heart of our strategy. Specifically, this action falls under goal 7, which is entitled: “Affordable and non-polluting energy”.
The need for self-sufficiency is becoming more pressing
According to the president of ADECA, Santos Prieto, “the rise in electricity and gas prices is seriously affecting the bottom line of many companies. So the need to be self-sufficient is becoming more pressing, along with seeking an alternative that gives us access to more affordable and sustainable resources”. 
In this regard, Prieto stressed that “this suggests that renewable energies will be vital in the present and future. Self-consumption is a solution where companies will find great benefits”.
Support
Representatives of Globalcaja and Eurofunding then went on to explain the support offered by different government departments for these types of installations. National support, such as that provided by the IDAE (Energy Diversification and Savings Institute), under the Ministry of Ecological Transition, amounting to 660 million euros; and regional support provided by the Government of the Community of Castilla la Mancha, worth over 30 million euros.
An affordable alternative
Increased self-consumption ensures that consumers reduce their needs from the electricity grid, providing the company with greater energy independence and favouring the use of more environmentally-friendly alternative energy. In addition, the benefits of self-consumption for the company include lower energy costs, higher profitability and improved competitiveness, the installation of shared production and group purchases of equipment and materials. There is also the possibility of creating Local Energy Communities (LECs), legal entities consisting of a group of partners (such as individuals, SMEs, owners of industrial buildings) who voluntarily and cooperatively join together with a common goal: to harness the infrastructure of industrial properties to generate sustainable energy, in this case solar energy for self-consumption. Government departments can also form part of LECs.
Eiffage Energía-ZINCAMAN Agreement
Reduced investment costs and regulatory changes have created an ideal scenario for the establishment of PV self-consumption systems in our region. In this area, ADECA wants to launch an ambitious project in the Campollano Business Park to promote Self-consumption and Local Energy Communities. This project will be possible thanks to the support of the Regional Association of Industrial Zones of Castilla-La Mancha (ZINCAMAN), and due to the agreement signed with Eiffage Energía, in partnership with Globalcaja as a financial entity and the Albacete City Council. The project implemented in Campollano offers two possibilities. The first is self-consumption, i.e. the installation of solar panels on the roofs of companies for their own self-consumption. The second is the creation of Local Energy Communities between several property owners, by blocks, adjoining warehouses or groups of buildings. Any company or warehouse owner can participate, even those who already have panels installed. However, it is not necessary for all members of a complex to participate, as communities are created by participation coefficient, based on the energy consumption of each member. 
