Nuevo Baztán Community

Shared solar energy for residents of the historic centre, where panels cannot be installed

The Nuevo Baztán energy community is now sharing solar energy among its first residents

Since late July 2026, the panels on the Municipal Warehouse in Nuevo Baztán (Madrid) have been sharing solar energy among the first residents of its energy community, promoted by the Town Council and Comunidad Solar. It is intended above all for the historic centre, a Site of Cultural Interest, where solar panels cannot be installed on roofs.

What it is: a municipal energy community: panels on Town Council roofs whose energy is shared among nearby homes and businesses.
Where: in Nuevo Baztán (Madrid), on the Municipal Warehouse on the industrial estate and on Juan de Goyeneche School.
With whom: the Town Council and Comunidad Solar, the company that Eugenio García-Calderón Huerta, founder of Light Humanity, co-founded in late 2018.
How to take part: by buying panels, currently €659.20 each including VAT; in April 2025, participants could still qualify for a 50% reduction in IBI property tax (Town Council).
Outcome: the Warehouse, with all its places taken, has been sharing energy since 23 July 2026.
What's next: the school already has its panels; Comunidad Solar expects its participants to receive energy in December 2026 if the Industry authorities and the distribution company meet their deadlines. There are still 126 panels available.

Aerial view of the historic centre of Nuevo Baztán with the Goyeneche Palace — The historic centre of Nuevo Baztán, a protected ensemble since 2000. Image published by Comunidad Solar

People attending the presentation of the Nuevo Baztán energy community beneath stone arches — Presentation on 19 April 2024 at the Goyeneche Palace. Photo: Comunidad Solar

Two installers fitting solar panels on the roof of the Municipal Warehouse in Nuevo Baztán — Fitting panels on the Municipal Warehouse, April 2025. Photo: Nuevo Baztán Town Council

Solar panels on the roof of Juan de Goyeneche School in Nuevo Baztán — Juan de Goyeneche School with its panels, April 2025. Photo: Nuevo Baztán Town Council

A protected historic centre where residents cannot put up solar panels

Nuevo Baztán began as a purpose-built town: José Benito de Churriguera laid it out around 1709 for Juan de Goyeneche, with six blocks around the palace and the church. That core is now a protected historic ensemble.

Protection: Decree 44/2000 of 16 March declared it a Site of Cultural Interest in the category of historic ensemble.
The problem: with no roof available, residents of the historic centre cannot produce their own solar electricity at home.
The idea: to produce it on nearby municipal roofs and share it, without installing anything on each home's roof (Town Council).
The precedent: in the historic centre of Toledo, heritage protection also prevented panels from being installed at the Zaqueo shelter; that was the origin of the idea of delivering solar energy through the bill to people who cannot put it on their roofs (Zaqueo Solar Centre; Energías Renovables).

How shared solar energy works, with no building work at home

According to Comunidad Solar, an energy community is a municipal roof that produces clean energy and shares it among nearby homes and small businesses. It is the company's local option; for distant solar parks it offers remote self-consumption.

The panels: each resident buys a share measured in panels; they receive not a physical panel but an allocation coefficient of the output (Comunidad Solar).
The bill: electricity from your share of the output pays no network charges or consumption costs and appears at €0; during the hours when the panels are not generating, you pay for whatever you need (Comunidad Solar in Xataka).
A tip: running the washing machine or charging the car during sunlight hours makes better use of each shared panel (Comunidad Solar).

April 2024: the Town Council and Comunidad Solar present the energy community

Residents of Nuevo Baztán listening to the presentation of the energy community in an arcaded courtyard — During the presentation, the Comunidad Solar team explained the model and answered residents' first questions. Photo: Comunidad Solar

On 15 April 2024, Nuevo Baztán Town Council announced that it was joining forces with Comunidad Solar to create the local energy community, so that residents and businesses could generate their own sustainable energy.

First phase: for residents of the Historic Ensemble and the El Mirador housing estate, up to 2 km from the panels.
Estimated savings: about €350 a year per home, according to the Town Council.
The presentation: on Friday 19 April, at 18:00, in the courtyard of the Goyeneche Palace, which houses the Tourist Office (esMadrid); the mayor, a councillor, residents and the Comunidad Solar team attended, and Eugenio and Paco explained the project (Comunidad Solar help centre).

The initial plan: 519 panels and 285 kWp on two municipal roofs

Two roofs: the Municipal Warehouse, with 116 panels, and Juan de Goyeneche School, with 403 planned; in total, 519 panels and about 285 kWp.

Three panels cost €1,980 and would save more than €298.67 a year for 25 years, according to the example Comunidad Solar gave at the presentation; its account of the event and a short video document the occasion.

In Xataka: in May, sponsored content from Comunidad Solar in Xataka promised savings of 75% and a return on investment in six and a half years.

October 2024: 29 families fill the first roof and a resident opens his home

Reservations: these opened on 18 July 2024, and participation could be formalised from 15 September (Comunidad Solar progress diary).
First roof, full: on 1 October it was filled by 29 families; phases 2 and 3, at the school, had room for 40 more families.
Open house: on 19 October, a community member showed neighbours a working photovoltaic installation at his home (Comunidad Solar).
IBI property tax: on 24 October, the Town Council unanimously approved an IBI reduction for participants.

Seeing a real installation and hearing from a neighbour who had already taken the plunge turned a technical explanation into something close to home and verifiable, Comunidad Solar sums up.

Residents of Nuevo Baztán at the open day at a community member's home — 19 October 2024: a community member opened his home so that neighbours could see a solar installation in operation. Photo: Comunidad Solar

A visit to Juan de Goyeneche School in Nuevo Baztán to prepare the solar installation — October 2024: the installers visited Juan de Goyeneche School to finalise details before the work began. Photo: Comunidad Solar

2025: heritage approval comes through and the panels reach the Warehouse and the school

Full council: on 10 December 2024, the Town Council approved the necessary measures in plenary session and the distribution company gave the green light to the grid access and connection points.
Heritage: on 19 February 2025, the Heritage Commission of the Community of Madrid approved the installation of the panels.
Easter: by April there were already 116 panels on the Warehouse and work was starting on fitting the 403 at the school, taking advantage of the days without lessons (Town Council).
More than 30 families had already joined (Town Council) a project designed for the historic centre, El Mirador, Eurovillas and businesses on the industrial estate (Town Council).

On 28 April, the Town Council described the collective self-consumption installations as almost finished. Then came the paperwork: in August 2025, an Authorised Inspection Body approved the Warehouse installation, and its documentation went to the distribution company.

An installer in a helmet working on the metal roof of the Municipal Warehouse in Nuevo Baztán — April 2025: work on the Municipal Warehouse, where 116 panels were fitted. Photo: Nuevo Baztán Town Council

Rows of solar panels on the tiled roof of Juan de Goyeneche School — Panels in place at Juan de Goyeneche School in late April 2025. Photo: Comunidad Solar

July 2026: Nuevo Baztán's Municipal Warehouse begins sharing solar energy

23 July: energy sharing from the Warehouse is switched on; on the 29th, the distribution company definitively activates the self-consumption.
One by one: the first supplies were activated between late July and August (Comunidad Solar); by September, most participants were receiving the energy.
Output: the Warehouse generated 9,968.04 kWh in August and 8,115.88 kWh in September (progress diary).
The bills: the first ones can take two or three months while the official readings are incorporated; that is why, in September, there was still no savings figure in euros.

“The energy is flowing. The savings have begun.” — Comunidad Solar (its blog, 7/9/2026)

The same Comunidad Solar article reports that in Villalbilla Gregorio Canella Primary School has been sharing energy since 5 May and that the first cases analysed there are saving between 23% and 44%.

What's next: Juan de Goyeneche School and 126 panels still available

The school: it already has its panels and equipment; in October a device was still missing at the service connection, and Comunidad Solar expects its participants to receive energy in December, if the Industry authorities and the distribution company meet their deadlines (progress diary).
Planned and published: the initial plan counted 519 panels and about 285 kWp; today Comunidad Solar counts 343 (188.65 kWp): 117 on the Warehouse and 226 on the south side of the school (Comunidad Solar).
Places open: of those 226 panels at the school, 126 were still available on 6 November.
A wider radius: coverage now extends 5 km from the roofs; in 2024 the figure was up to 2 km.

The advertised savings, 75% in 2024 and up to 70% in 2025 (Town Council), were forecasts: the proof will come with the first complete bills.