Iberdrola España has announced it has reached a milestone of 1,000 solar communities across Spain, bringing renewable energy self-consumption within reach of 100,000 families.
The initiative, launched in 2019, was designed to address the challenge of enabling solar access for the two-thirds of Spaniards living in apartment buildings.
The company’s solar communities are installed on rooftops of schools, churches, industrial sites, and shopping centres, allowing residents within a 2 km radius to benefit from clean energy without installing their own PV panels or making financial investments.
Iberdrola España handles both the installation and site selection.
Madrid leads in the number of installations, with 170 solar communities, followed by the Valencian Community with 148. Extremadura stands out as the region with the highest number of households able to access this service, reaching more than 19,000 families.
Cáceres became Spain’s first “solar city” under this model, offering self-consumption to all its residents without requiring private infrastructure. Other cities such as Bilbao, Valladolid, Badajoz, Córdoba, Guadalajara, and Huesca have since followed.
Iberdrola España says these solar communities can deliver up to 30% savings on electricity bills while reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
“Each solar community will prevent the emission of around 640 tonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere over the next 30 years,” the company stated, citing benefits for both customers and local air quality.
As a market leader in self-consumption, Iberdrola España also offers the Solar Plan tariff for periods without sunlight and enables customers to sell surplus energy back to the grid or transfer it for use at another property via its Solar Cloud service.
According to the company, self-consumption systems can cut energy costs by up to 70% in single-family homes.
With Spain’s solar market remaining a crucial topic, don’t miss your free ticket for Solar & Storage Live España in Valencia 25-26 June 2025.
