E.ON starts piloting 500-metre "solar circles" on Spanish island

German electric utility E.ON SE (ETR:EOAN) said that it has partnered with the town of Adeje, on the Spanish island of Tenerife, on a pilot project to establish solar PV-based energy communities centered around rooftop-mounted systems.

The idea behind the initiative, called Adeje Verde, is to connect around 200 consumers within a 500-metre (1,640 ft) radius to rooftop solar production units that are run by prosumers. The systems would then generate power that can be shared and used by the surrounding neighbours, creating a “solar circle”, as E.ON puts it.

The first solar circle has already been created, with a PV system sitting on the rooftop of the town’s music school. The system can generate around 149,200 kWh per year, and by August, some 200 households will draw power from it. According to E.ON, these households will represent a market share of 14% in the solar circle.

The pilot is based on the Electricity Market Directive of the 2019 EU Clean Energy Package, which states that excess solar no longer needs to be uploaded back to the grid, but can instead be passed on to the neighbours at a reduced rate, E.ON said.

The company plans to take its experiences from Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden to inform the Adeje project, as it works to establish several solar circles in the island town. The goal of the pilot is to enable all citizens of Adeje to gain access to local solar.

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