Only four of the seven municipalities of Lanzarote promote renewable energies with tax discounts to their taxpayers, according to the Chamber of Commerce, which states that "neither Arrecife nor Teguise nor Tinajo have yet implemented this type of compensation."
In the case of Haría, San Bartolomé, Tías and Yaiza, they offer incentives in the Real Estate Tax (IBI) of up to 50% in the case of having self-consumption facilities, according to the chamber entity. "Haría and Yaiza apply discounts of 50% for photovoltaic and solar thermal installations for three years, while San Bartolomé does so only for photovoltaic but does not determine a term of extinction in the application. In the case of Tías, the aid is reduced to 20% in the case of solar thermal installations, for hot water," he details.
However, he points out that "neither Arrecife nor Teguise nor Tinajo have yet implemented this type of compensation that serves to promote the installation of renewable energies." "Both photovoltaic and solar thermal are an important stimulus due to the savings they represent for users, who see how they recover the investment in a short time and begin to make it profitable. Not to mention the urgency of reducing dependence on fossil fuels in the current context," he says.
For the Chamber of Commerce, "the municipalities are called to act as an engine of change and play a decisive role in the implementation of self-consumption". "Tax breaks through the IBI, the Tax on Installations, Constructions and Works (ICIO) or the Circulation Tax (IVTM) are essential to achieve policies aimed at sustainability, as agreed in the 2008 Covenant of Mayors to which only Haría has adhered. We need to have the municipalities as drivers of change to improve the living conditions of our cities and, specifically, to fight against the pandemic of the climate emergency and improve air quality. It is time to recover the human dimension that our populations have been losing," he claims.
Abandoning traditional energy dependence
"Electricity has not stopped rising, but the islands have a great wealth of natural resources to abandon traditional energy dependencel," adds the Chamber of Commerce, which considers that "Lanzarote is the perfect space for the implementation of multiple clean energies, since in addition to photovoltaic or wind power, it is ideal for geothermal or that generated by sea waves (tidal and wave energy)."
Finally, it is recalled that companies and professionals have in the Chamber an information and processing service for files that ranges from the moment of application to the installation of renewables. The Single Window for Renewable Energies "is one more tool for all those SMEs and self-employed who are considering cutting costs in their electricity and fuel bills," concludes the chamber entity.
