Grants and allowances

The City Council will help you to generate your own energy and be more efficient

Check the grants and allowances that you can apply for energy rehabilitation or to install solar energy generation systems to generate your own energy. If you wish, you can go to the Energy Advice Points. Here you will find staff that can help you regarding any queries or can guide you in the process of applying for grants. You can also contact the Self-consumption Information Services via email: autoconsum@bcn.cat.

Tax benefits

In the case of residential buildings and the third sector, Barcelona City Council offers tax credits for voluntary installation of photovoltaic generation for self-consumption. Specifically, the credits represent tax allowances on fixed assets (IBI), on taxes on construction, installation and building works (ICIO) and credits for economic activity taxes (IAE).

Currently, the discount on fixed assets is 50% for the first three years following investment, and in the case of construction, installation and building works, the total credit value is 95% of the total cost of the building permit.

The discount of 50% for fixed assets is applicable to voluntary installation of solar energy capture and is contained in the latest tax ordinance, i.e. in Article 9, allowances, point 8.

With regard to the credit for construction, installation and building works, the following may be applicable: ‘Incorporation works of systems of thermal or electrical solar energy use, provided that these actions are not integrated into works or constructions which are applicable under regulation’, that is, as long as it is not a question of mandatory facilities. The application of the credit will be under the condition that heat production includes standardised collectors from the relevant Authority’.

In the case of photovoltaic solar generation facilities for shared self-consumption, it will be each of the units or residential properties with which energy will be shared that will benefit from the credit for fixed assets. It should be remembered that the maximum credit that can be received is 100% of the cost of installation and that the current tax ordinance in 2020 established a minimum power per operational unit or residential property.

Regarding the allowance for IAE, a credit of 50% of the tax to be paid, during the first two years, will be given to tax-payers using solar energy or other renewable energies during the tax year for the taxable activities.

The application of this credit will be on the condition that, where applicable, there is acceptance by the City Council of the corresponding minor works notification.

hese discounts are directly managed by Barcelona City Council’s Municipal Tax Office.

More information on tax ordinances

Barcelona City Council’s Municipal Tax Office

Grants for energy-rehabilitation work on common areas of buildings

Barcelona City Council provides assistance on an annual basis for the rehabilitation of properties aimed at the generation and saving of energy. In the last call, Barcelona City Council offered:

In 2019 and 2020, the City Council provided financial help of up to 50% of the cost of voluntary installations of photovoltaic panels (for electricity production) and solar thermal panels (to produce hot water), for both individual and collective projects.
In previous years, the City Council offered subsidies of up to 40% of the cost of initiatives for overall energy improvements (insulation for the entire building envelope) or up to 25% of the cost of partial energy-rehabilitation projects (façades, roofs and terraces, partition walls and interior courtyards).
You will find all the information you need on the Barcelona Housing Consortium’s rehabilitation grants and subsidies here: Grants

Other type of facilities

There are many mechanisms driven by organisations as well as private ones that can help carry out this type of installation. An example is crowdlending or socialised financing. There are examples of voluntary solar generation facilities using these systems, both for the use of domestic hot water and for PV generation facilities in municipal facilities. There are also soft loans from banks.