Spain have everything in place to be leaders in solar energy, however...

With no indigenous hydrocarbons, high levels of reliable sunshine and loads of land relative to the population, Spain should be at the forefront of a move to solar energy. However, it also has entrenched energy giants who have seen what renewable energy has done to their peers in Germany. Businesses and consumers generating and consuming their own energy is very disruptive to a business model which generates electricity centrally and distributes it via a high cost grid.

Luckily, Spain’s energy giants have the resources to buy the necessary politicians and put in place legislation which penalises customers who take control of their own energy but still wish to connect to the grid. Proposed laws soon to be fast tracked on to the statute will impose costs (or fines, as some people call them) for connecting solar systems into the grid. This is self – interested protectionism at its worst and will, as is always the case when governments cosy up to big corporates, mean that consumers get shafted. Using government influence to protect an outdated and inflexible business model will mean higher prices which will  drive a move to self sufficient, off grid energy generation and will hasten the end for the grid giants.

Read the full story at Clean Technica.