In Spain, the building permit is currently one of the main barriers to rooftop self-consumption installations, as it implies higher costs and a delay of up to 8 months in the administrative process.
In order to streamline this process, UNEF has sent to the Spanish Regional Administrations its proposal to replace the building permit with a prior notice, a measure that would help speed up the process and foster the deployment of rooftop self-consumption installations. Some Spanish regions, such as Catalonia, have already set the example adapting their regional normative framework and eliminating the requirement of the building permit.
According to a study carried out by UNEF, in collaboration with SolarPower Europe, Spain is an exception at European level, as the building permit for rooftop self-consumption installations is not required in the majority of European countries, such as Germany or Italy.