Last Monday, when the electricity suddenly went out in Spain, Irene Casas and her husband Luis Morate, residents of an apartment building in a suburb of Madrid, were affected along with their neighbors. Despite having 200 solar panels installed on their roof at the end of 2023, the panels failed to prevent them from losing power. The reason behind this is that these panels are directly connected to the grid, like most solar installations in Spanish homes.
According to Luis Morate, 'In principle, the solar panels provide us energy during the day, but in reality, we are connected to the grid like everyone else.' This context challenges the conventional belief that rooftop solar panels provide energy independence. Even though each homeowner, including Casas and Morate, receives a discount on their utility bill for the energy they inject into the grid, the panels do not supply energy directly to their apartments.
On the other hand, Carlota Sala, a resident of a property in Catalonia, lives off the grid with solar panels and batteries that store energy for use at night. Sala, also known as Ninyacolorita, did not learn about the historic blackout in the Iberian Peninsula until several hours after it occurred. For her, the choice to be energy independent has been reinforced by this event.
Despite the advantages of electric self-sufficiency, many solar panel owners in Spain are directly connected to the grid for safety and convenience reasons, which prevents their installations from functioning when the main grid fails. Setting up solar panels to operate independently from the grid involves additional costs, so in places where outages are uncommon, it may not be considered a necessary investment.
The experience of having off-grid energy supply can be valuable for some people, as in the case of Sala and her family, who cherish the sense of physical and emotional autonomy it provides them. Despite the complications it may entail, this way of life allows them to feel that they can make their own decisions and have greater control over their environment.
