Spain taxes sunlight….

Do you sometimes wonder if you have read something aright – as I did when I read, in Josh de Sol’s damning critique of the smart meter ‘scam’ in the US :–

With 6 of the 7 world’s richest companies in the oil/gas/energy industry, should it be surprising that corporate governments have (in Spain) actually passed laws to prohibit the “illegal use of sunlight for energy generation”, setting a fine of $30M Euro for violating homeowners?

But yes – here is the report on www.mining.com, scarcely an inflammatory left wing rag where you might expect to find such an accusation…

Encouraging people to go solar may be great overall public policy unless a protected industry is harmed.
According to Energias Renovable, the Spain’s Secretary of State for Energy, Alberto Nadal, has signed a draft royal decree taxing energy derived from photovoltaic installation.

The Spanish government has harkened to the pleas of an industry group. The consumption tax was supported by the Spanish Photovoltaic Union (UNEF), which brings together some 300 companies representing 85% of the industry.

El Pais writes that becoming energy self-sufficient could become very expensive. Collecting photons of sunlight for your own use could lead to a fine of 30 million euros.
(Following the link to El Pais will give you a much longer, if somewhat translator-garbled, handle on the story.)

After which I went back to Josh de Sol’s article and read it with even more attention….