Fred James

Share what? The €50 notes?

spainrico

Well, that would be a start!

I was thinking more of your tax-saving ideas...

Fred James

It's not an idea, it's a fact. If you install a solar system and it achieves a significant improvement in your EPC energy rating, you can claim up to 60% of the cost as a deduction against your Renta bill. It's limited to €3000 in one tax year but you can carry forward the unclaimed balance for up to 4 tax years.

On top of that, there is an EU grant of another 60% paid into your bank account. Inevitably you can't claim both in full but you can get up to 84% of the total cost subsidised.

Any energy that you generate over and above your usage is sold to the energy company for up to 15 centimos per Kwh meaning that, with a big enough system you pay nothing for your electricity every month of the year.

In the UK there are virtually no subsidies and the buy back price is pitiful.

spainrico

OK good to know thanks

tdrinker

One of the issues of solar, heat pump and general EPC improvement upgrades is the requirement for significant taxpayer subsidies for many of them to be economically viable. Whilst the upgrades are cheap or free for the individual, they're not overall it's just that the cost is shared between all taxpayers. And if every taxpayer wanted to make subsidised upgrades, the aggregate cost is very high. The upgrade cost needs to be lower so they are economically viable without large taxpayer subsidies; this will encourage large scale take-up, not just in western countries but worldwide. Hopefully, technology improvements and economies of scale will get us there.

The low electricity buy back rate in the UK feels like a scam.

Fred James

The main 60% subsidy comes from the EU "Next Generation" fund, not directly from the Spanish government. The income tax deductions are only available to people who pay sufficiently high amounts of tax.

spainrico

Spain sparks fears of energy industry crisis as renewable supply exceeds demand | BBC News

DLC

From 2021:

Spain energy crisis: Soaring bills hamper recovery from Covid

I think I prefer this crisis to the other one.

DLC

UK households pay more for electricity than all of the EU
Closing the gap between electricity and relatively low gas prices should be a priority for the next government, experts said

tdrinker

It's very possible they will incentivise people to move from gas boilers to electric heat pumps by making gas more expensive by adding various green levies to the cost of gas. Of course, it would be better to instead make electricity cheaper, but I wouldn't hold your breath.