Solar Energy Cooperatives: How to Join or Start One in Your City

As electricity prices reach record highs, solar cooperatives are emerging as the most effective alternative for citizens and SMEs to take control of their energy. By 2025, Spain will have more than 1,500 cooperatives, representing 500,000 families and producing 5% of the country’s electricity at prices 40% lower than the conventional market. How can you join this movement or create one from scratch?

What is a Solar Cooperative?

An energy community where individuals or companies join together to:

• Produce renewable energy (panels on community rooftops or solar plants).
• Distribute it among members at cost price (without intermediaries).
• Reinvest profits in new projects or aid to vulnerable households.

Real-life example: Som Energia (150,000 members in 2025) bills €0.11/kWh compared to €0.18-0.25/kWh for traditional energy suppliers.

5 Steps to Join an Existing Cooperative

1. Find nearby cooperatives:
   • Platforms like Union Renovable or the IDAE Energy Communities Map geolocate options.
2. Acquire shares:
   • From €50-100 per share (recoverable upon exit).
3. Sign the supply contract:
   • You retain your electricity company as legal support.
4. Consume and monitor:
   • Apps like SolarCloud show your energy in real time.
5. Participate in decisions:
   • 1 person = 1 vote (regardless of the number of shares).

7 Steps to Create a New Cooperative

1. Establish a core group

• 5-10 people (neighbors, businesses, schools).
• Seek complementary skills: legal, technical, communication.

2. Feasibility study

• Available spaces: City councils, industrial warehouses, neighborhood associations.
• Funding:
  • Grants (IDAE, Next Generation EU funds).
  • Crowdfunding (30-50% of the cost).
  • Soft loans (ICO-Sustainable Energy).

3. Legalization

• Legal form: Cooperative Society (special regime with tax advantages).
• Licensing: Urban and environmental (term: 2-4 months).

4. Installation and connection

• Options:
  • Shared self-consumption: Panels on community buildings.
  • Rural solar plants: On vacant or agricultural land.
• Management: RESO-certified installation companies.

5. Energy Distribution

• Distribution apps: EnergyBlock automatically distributes surplus energy.
• Grid sales: Revenue from surplus energy (€0.08/kWh in 2025).

Innovative Models in 2025

• Rental cooperatives: They install panels on your roof with no initial investment (e.g., Solabria Rent).
• Rural communities: 80 towns in Extremadura share a 10 MW large-scale plant.
• Community batteries: They store surplus energy for nights/winter (e.g., BatCom in the Basque Country).

Barriers and Solutions

• Bureaucracy: City councils offer one-stop shops to streamline procedures.
• Initial financing: 10-year ICO-Green Lines with 1% interest.
• Neighborhood resistance: Informational talks and visits to existing cooperatives.

Inspiring Success Stories

• Málaga: Solandalus Cooperative supplies 10,000 families and offers free charging for electric vehicles.
• Barcelona: EnerÀtic installed panels in 15 public schools.
• Galicia: Xeración combines wind and solar power to supply 25,000 homes.

The Future: Cooperatives 2.0

• Blockchain: Smart contracts for automatic energy distribution.
• Green hydrogen: Seasonal storage for winter.
• Intercooperative networks: Energy trading between autonomous communities.

“Energy is not a luxury, it is a right that we must all control.” — María Campuzano, founder of Sol Comunitat Valenciana.