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On October 8, 2025, the Spanish government released for public consultation a draft Royal Decree aimed at updating the country’s self-consumption framework and accelerating the deployment of distributed energy storage. The proposal introduces a series of significant measures intended to expand access to renewable self-consumption and simplify administrative procedures.

Among the most notable changes is the extension of the maximum distance allowed for grid-connected self-consumption to 5 kilometers, provided that the generation facility meets three conditions: it must be photovoltaic; located on industrial land, rooftops, or other artificial structures whose primary purpose is not power generation; and have a capacity of less than 5 MWn.

The draft also establishes a new scheme for shared surplus self-consumption, in which a primary consumer uses electricity generated by their connected installation and distributes only the excess energy to associated consumers. These consumers must all participate under the same self-consumption modality, and the generation facility must be connected to the internal grid of the primary consumer.

Another major development is the authorization for a consumer to simultaneously participate in individual self-consumption without surplus (using an installation connected to their internal grid) and in grid-based surplus self-consumption. Additionally, the mandatory minimum permanence period for both self-consumption modalities and energy distribution coefficients will be reduced from four months to one month, increasing flexibility for users.

The regulation also formalizes the role of the self-consumption manager, a physical or legal entity authorized by associated consumers to act on their behalf and ensure proper operation of the self-consumption system. Furthermore, the draft introduces a regulatory framework for distributed storage, enabling storage facilities to participate under any self-consumption modality.

Other measures included in the proposal aim to streamline administrative processes and reduce technical requirements. These include an expansion of exemptions from the obligation to contract a separate supply for auxiliary services, clarifications on the need for consent only from affected consumers when modifying sharing agreements, and new provisions allowing non-consuming owners to hold generation assets in installations without surplus. The draft also simplifies registration processes for certain installations with surplus and reduces metering equipment requirements.

The full draft Royal Decree is available for public review online.

Parallel to this reform, progress continues on the approval of the Sustainable Mobility Law, which has returned to the Congress of Deputies for consideration of Senate amendments. Along with enabling individual non-surplus self-consumption to coexist with participation in collective grid-based schemes, the law introduces several measures to facilitate and promote self-consumption across various transport sectors.