Foreign Affairs

unhappycamper

(60,364 posts) Wed Jun 10, 2015, 08:44 AM Jun 2015

Spanish government plans to tax sunlight

http://www.euroweeklynews.com/3.0.15/news/on-euro-weekly-news/spain-news-in-english/129698-spanish-government-plans-to-tax-sunlight

Spanish government plans to tax sunlight
Steve Walsh
10 June 2015

THE Spanish government is planning to tax households that produce their own energy through solar power and store some of it using batteries.

The Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism has prepared a draught decree that would see a new fee designed to discourage the use of solar charged batteries or other storage systems by people who produce their own electricity, Spanish daily El Pais said.

Users of solar or photovoltaic panel systems that charge batteries will be targeted by the new rules. These self-reliant consumers will not be able to use products such as the Powerwall battery recently launched by car manufacturer and energy-storage company Tesla.
Moreover, they could find themselves being penalised additionally for the storage systems that come included with the latest generation of solar panels.

If you live in the Campo, however, you may escape the ´tax on Sunlight´ as only off-grid consumers who have their own, completely independent energy-production systems will be able to use batteries without being penalised.

4 replies

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Spanish government plans to tax sunlight (Original Post) unhappycamper Jun 2015 OP

Well, Sherman A1 Jun 2015 #1

It's a hell of a lot worse than "silly". It's criminal behavior. nt ladjf Jun 2015 #4

I think I understand why they are doing it. Travis_0004 Jun 2015 #2

Taxing the solar energy generation is exactly the wrong thing to do. ladjf Jun 2015 #3

Sherman A1

(38,958 posts)

1. Well,

Reply to unhappycamper (Original post)

Wed Jun 10, 2015, 08:46 AM

Jun 2015

This certainly seems to be a silly idea????

ladjf

(17,320 posts)

4. It's a hell of a lot worse than "silly". It's criminal behavior. nt

Reply to Sherman A1 (Reply #1)

Wed Jun 10, 2015, 10:49 AM

Jun 2015

Travis_0004

(5,417 posts)

2. I think I understand why they are doing it.

Reply to unhappycamper (Original post)

Wed Jun 10, 2015, 09:45 AM

Jun 2015

It costs a lot of money to maintain power lines to distribute power to every household in the country.

If you have solar, you are still grid tied, and they should pay their fair share to maintain those lines if they are using them. If you can produce 100% of your own solar power, than cut ties from the power company, and you should not have to pay to maintain those lines.

If that is the logic they are using, I don't quite understand taxing battery backup systems, instead of taxing all PV systems.

ladjf

(17,320 posts)

3. Taxing the solar energy generation is exactly the wrong thing to do.

Reply to unhappycamper (Original post)

Wed Jun 10, 2015, 10:48 AM

Jun 2015

Fossil fuel and nuclear generated electricity should be taxed so as to phase it out.

This stupid and disingenuous tax on solar will be overturned by necessity in the near future. The perpetrators of this counter-productive policy will be exposed for the greedy crooks they are.

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