Spain’s solar market is booming. In Madrid, Duarte Kazacos Winter ensures that operators get the most out of their assets. In this interview, the Key Account Manager explains how Spain’s solar market is evolving – and what role the data analytics platform PVisto® plays in this growth.
Duarte, let’s start with a general question: how is the photovoltaic sector currently developing in Spain?
Duarte: Photovoltaics have grown tremendously here in recent years. Expansion slowed down a bit in 2024, but right now 32 gigawatts are connected to the grid. That’s only about one-third of Germany’s solar capacity. However, thanks to Spain’s higher solar irradiation and lower electricity consumption, the share of solar power here already reaches 17%, significantly higher than Germany’s 14%.
What role does Mondas play in this context?
With our monitoring solution PVisto®, we currently focus on operators managing large-scale PV portfolios. Three quarters of the installed capacity in Spain comes from utility-scale ground-mounted plants. For operators, every additional percentage point in yield and every euro saved in operations and maintenance matters. With the intelligent data analytics provided by PVisto®, they can achieve both.
What exactly convinces users?
PVisto® analyzes photovoltaic systems with exceptional detail – from the aggregated portfolio level all the way down to the lowest string level. Users benefit from intelligent alerts and automated reporting. With PVisto®, they can compare plants and automatically prioritize maintenance activities.
This combination of deep analytics and clear visualization makes our monitoring software particularly efficient. Operators save time and costs in monitoring, service, and maintenance.
Can you give us a recent example?
In Spain, we’ve just launched our first projects with new customers. Our goal is to optimize monitoring here just as consistently and convincingly as we have done for our existing customers – for example, in Slovenia.
There, the operator Enertec uses PVisto® to monitor 1,500 PV plants and 100 storage systems. Previously, they had to pull monitoring data from three different portals, which made efficient analysis and cross-comparisons practically impossible.
Today, everything runs on a single platform: issues are resolved faster, yields increase, new assets can be integrated with a click, and automatically generated monthly reports are available for each individual site. According to Tadej Smogavec, Enertec’s Managing Director, this service is highly valued by their customers.
How do you see future developments in Spain?
Large ground-mounted plants still dominate today, but rooftop systems are becoming increasingly important. Their proximity to the point of consumption and the resulting higher self-consumption mean they pay off faster – despite their higher specific installation costs.
In addition, under the EU Building Directive 2024/1275, Spain must also introduce a solar obligation for new residential buildings and covered parking areas by the end of 2029. This will further accelerate the rollout of solar systems directly at the point of consumption.
What role can PVisto® play in this segment?
A crucial one! Companies operating PV systems, storage, EV charging stations, and HVAC systems will need intelligent energy management that economically optimizes the generation, storage, and consumption of solar power.
PVisto® is already prepared for this. The platform can ingest and analyze data from all kinds of equipment and manufacturers – building the foundation for intelligent energy management that even takes into account Spain’s time-variable electricity tariffs.
Smart monitoring lowers maintenance costs, increases self-consumption, makes energy supply more reliable – and reduces CO₂ emissions.
Spain’s solar market is developing rapidly – and with PVisto®, we are actively shaping this transformation.
Thank you for the interview and for your insights into Spain’s PV market!
Duarte: My pleasure.
Interview conducted by Jürgen Leuchtner