Mallorca enjoys over 300 days of sunshine a year. Whilst detached houses are already transforming the island into a sea of blue solar panels, apartment blocks (Comunidades de Propietarios) are often lagging behind. Yet the model of Autoconsumo Colectivo (collective self-consumption) is increasingly being discussed in public. However, the path to ‘free electricity’ from one’s own roof is paved with bureaucratic and technical hurdles.
1. The human hurdle: getting the neighbours’ ‘yes’
Before the first panel is installed, the owners’ meeting must give its approval.
• The problem: even though the law (Ley de Propiedad Horizontal) now only requires a simple majority, projects often fail due to neighbours’ scepticism.
• The solution: present a cost estimate at the owners meeting.
2. The bottleneck: Registration with the grid operator
The final hurdle for any solar project in Mallorca is often e-distribución.
• The problem: registering collective consumption is significantly more complex than for individual systems. Greenpeace and installation associations such as ASINEM regularly criticise the fact that applications are left pending for months due to the slightest formal errors, or that data records for electricity distribution are not processed correctly.
• Duration: Expect a waiting period of 6–12 months before the credits actually appear on your bill.
3. Technology & Costs: the ‘hidden’ costs
The panels on the roof are the cheapest part of a photovoltaic system.
• The generation meter: An additional meter is essential for shared billing. Although the hardware costs only around €500, in many older buildings in Mallorca the meter boxes no longer comply with current standards.
• The meter room cost trap: if the grid operator requires the entire meter box to be modernised, additional costs of €1,500 to €3,000 can quickly arise, even before the first cable has been laid.
Is it worth the effort?
It makes much more sense to use the community’s photovoltaic system for the communal meters.
Installing and registering the solar system is much simpler. The cost allocation is the same for all owners, regardless of whether they use the property all year round.
Communal electricity costs often amount to several thousand euros per year, and photovoltaics is a wonderful solution for reducing these in the long term.