Frequently asked questions

Yes, self-consumption is regulated by the Spanish Royal Decree-law (RD) 244/2019, RD-Law 15/2018, Law 24/2013 on the Electricity Sector and, to a lesser extent, by other RDs and provisions.

WITHOUT surplus. When there are anti-spill systems that prevent the injection of surplus energy into the transmission or distribution grid. In this case, there is only one type of subject: the consumer.

WITH surplus. When the generation facilities can, in addition to supplying energy for self-consumption, inject surplus energy into the transmission or distribution networks. In these cases, there can be two types of subjects: consumer and producer.

Installations with surplus may be:

• WITH surplus ACCEPTING economic compensation
  In this case, the energy that is not instantly self-consumed is fed into the grid, so that at the end of the billing period (maximum one month), the value of this surplus energy will be compensated in the customer’s bill.
  Individual and collective installations connected to the internal grid that meet the conditions described in the Royal Decree 244/2019 (self-consumption installation ≤ 100 kWn, among others) on energy efficiency are eligible for this modality.
• WITH surpluses NOT ACCEPTING economic compensation
  In this case, the energy that is not instantaneously self-consumed is fed into the grid and sold, obtaining for it, at least, the price of the wholesale electricity market (Pool), being able to negotiate other better conditions with the marketer.

In addition, Royal Decree 244/2019 defines the concept of a self-consumption installation that is close to the grid, when these installations are connected to the low-voltage grids that depend on the same transformation centre or are connected at less than 500m from the consumer or are in the same cadastral reference as the consumer.

All the aforementioned modalities will also be applicable to collective self-consumption installations, which will have several consumers.

Opengy offers all of the above solutions.

According to the current regulatory framework (RD 244/2019), it depends on the type of self-consumption to which we are registered for:

Self-consumption installation WITHOUT sale of surplus.
In installations without the sale of surplus, these must incorporate an anti-spill system that complies with the quality and industrial safety and industrial safety regulations applicable to them and, in particular, in the case of low voltage, with the provisions of ITC-BT-40. This system adjusts the photovoltaic generation to our consumption, so when there is no consumption, there will be no photovoltaic generation either and, therefore, the “surplus energy” will not be generated. Therefore, we will not receive any remuneration for the energy not produced.

Self-consumption installation WITH sale of surplus
Contrary to the installations without sale of surplus energy, in this case the surplus energy will be injected into the grid (distribution or transport) to which we are connected. However, there are two ways of being remunerated for this energy: consumer under simplified compensation or not under simplified compensation.

In installations WITH sale of surplus ACCEPTED to simplified compensation, the price of the compensation will be agreed/negotiated between the consumer and his marketer and must be at least the wholesale market price (Pool).

In installations WITH sale of surpluses NOT ACCEPTED to simplified compensation, the same rules shall apply as for any other production plant and, therefore, surplus energy is sold at a price of at least at least at the electricity market price, although other more advantageous conditions could be negotiated with the marketer.

Generally, industrial and commercial clients can save up to 50% on the energy term of their electricity bill. There are several factors to be considered:

• Geographical location: existing solar resource.
• Layout and sizing of the installation: power of the installation, incident solar radiation on the photovoltaic modules (shading, orientation, and inclination).
• Price currently paid.
• Contracted tariff.
• Consumption profile.

At Opengy we carry out a detailed study for all our clients to check if the rooftop is compatible with the photovoltaic installation. These are some of the parameters we take into account:

• Dimensions, inclination, and orientation of the rooftop.
• Possible shadows from trees, nearby buildings, air-conditioning equipment, etc.
• Possible non-useful spaces in the rooftops themselves, such as skylights, skylights, etc.
• Stability and robustness of the rooftops, by means of a load study.

Of course. Current regulations allow the installation of batteries in a complementary way to the photovoltaic installation. By incorporating batteries to the installation, we will be able to increase the % of self-consumed energy of the photovoltaic installation and, in the case of an installation without the sale of surplus, the production. It is also true that not in all cases is worthy: it will depend on the size of the installation and the consumption that we have.

It is estimated to have a lifetime of at least 30 years. This is the period of time in which the installation maintains acceptable yield losses (approx. 15-20%). Even so, it should be noted that the installation will continue to produce energy, with a lower efficiency, until the year 35-40, or even longer.

An PPA On-Site is a long-term electricity supply contract established between a generator and a consumer (“PPAs” stands for Power Purchase Agreement) in which the generation is located at the same site as the consumer and the supply is directly in their internal grid, bypassing the distribution/transport network.

The main advantages of this type of contract are:

• Clean and cheap energy: Obtaining savings vs. the price paid to the electricity company and corporate commitment to the environment.
• Fixed price: Long-term price stability and visibility.
• Initial investment from €0: Minimal initial investment, which can be zero.
• Flexible duration: With terms of up to 15 years and the possibility of purchasing the installation at any time at a price agreed from the start.
• Does not compute CIRBE or appear on the balance sheet (in the case of operating leases): Does not compromise the Client’s debt capacity.
• Fees deductible as an expense (in the case of operating leases): Total payments are listed in the Client’s profit and loss account as expenses, therefore they are deductible.
• All-inclusive: The consumer does not have to worry about anything, only about benefiting from clean energy at a competitive price. The generator will take care of all opex (O&M, insurance, etc.) during the contract.
• Warranty: The equipment is fully warranted for the life of the PPA.
• Ownership of the asset: At the end of the contract, the customer has the possibility to take over the photovoltaic system and continue to enjoy the savings.

The Virtual (or synthetic) PPA is a financial hedge against the price of the Pool. In this case there is no physical exchange of energy.

In our case, the generation asset exists and will be owned by Opengy, so the position is hedged by both the seller (generator) and the buyer (consumer). Unlike an On-Site PPA, at the end of the contract, the ownership of the asset is not transferred to the Client.

The main advantages of this type of contract are:

• Savings: The price of the Pool is lower.
• Visibility and stability: The price does not change for the entire duration of the contract, although it could be partially indexed to the evolution of the price of the Pool, the CPI or some other index.
• Clean energy and reduction of carbon footprint: Through the Guarantees of Origin mechanism, the Customer ensures that the energy it consumes comes from a clean and environmentally friendly source.
• No CAPEX nor OPEX
• Flexible duration, up to 20 years.
• Free choice of supplier