Repsol launches first large solar community in Spain

Spain’s Repsol has launched Solmatch, the first large solar community in Spain, as part of the company’s strategy to become a net zero emissions company by 2050.

Generation and self-consumption of renewable energy is one of Repsol’s focus areas to reduce its carbon intensity. The company is transforming and diversifying its business to contribute to reaching the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Repsol Solmatch is a new service, based on a 100 per cent renewable energy model, that promotes distributed electricity generation in Spain. With this model, the company is bringing power generation to the point of consumption through the design of solar communities in urban centers.

The Solmatch communities generate power using solar panels installed on the roofs of the building (roofers) so that homes (matchers), located at a maximum distance of 500 meters, can connect to them and benefit from 100 per cent local renewable energy.

This is a new urban energy model that promotes the local economy, providing benefits in terms of sustainability and without the interested parties having to make any investment. The roofers have the option to generate renewable energy, while making the most of an asset that is generally unused, their rooftops. They can also improve the energy rating of their homes and receive free energy advice and services from expert energy advisors.

Matchers can easily connect to a solar community in their vicinity to consume the solar energy generated in their surrounding area and make savings of up to 20% on the electricity they consume, at a very competitive rate and with no commitment or minimum term. All the matchers have to do is enter their addresses into the Solmatch website to find the solar communities that exist in their area.

Repsol manages the project in all its stages, taking responsibility for the whole process from start to finish, from the roof study to confirm its viability to the installation and maintenance of the solar panels.

Solmatch currently consists of 30 solar communities around Spain, with several Repsol installations acting as roofers, for example, the Repsol Campus, the lubricants and specialties plant in Palencia, and numerous service stations.