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Clarify your doubts about Solar Energy and Self-Consumption

We’ve compiled our customers’ most frequently asked questions to promote knowledge sharing and literacy on solar energy, self-consumption, and current legislation. If you don’t find what you’re looking for here, please contact us—we’ll be happy to help.

  • Self-consumption
  • Engineering
  • Technical Consulting

According to current Portuguese legislation, Self-consumption refers to the consumption of locally produced electricity from renewable sources by one or more Self-Consumption Production Units (UPAC), located on the consumer’s own premises—individual self-consumption (ACi), on a nearby neighbor’s premises—collective self-consumption (ACC), or in a renewable energy community (CER). To understand the legal details, you can consult the Digital Manual – Self-Consumption and Renewable Energy Community from ADENE and DGEG at poupaenergia.pt.

Self-consumption can be carried out by any entity, whether an individual, company, or public entity, as long as it requires electricity.

A UPAC must integrate the equipment necessary for energy production and, additionally, may also integrate batteries to store excess energy.

Sunsei Energy is dedicated to evaluating the best self-consumption solutions for companies in any sector, helping them design the ideal UPAC for their energy and financial needs, and selecting the best equipment and installation companies for its implementation.

Fundamentally, self-consumption allows the self-consumer to:

  • Reduce their electricity bill by preferentially consuming locally produced energy, with only the remainder supplied through the Public Service Electricity Grid (RESP).
  • Sustainability and energy independence by reducing their carbon footprint and dependence on the RESP.
  • Increase in the value of the property or facility, provided the UPAC is properly designed, certified, and maintained.

Sunsei Energy is available to help you evaluate the energy and bill reduction potential of a UPAC at your facility.

Not necessarily—it depends on the installed power:

  • Up to 700W, exclusively for self-consumption, is exempt from any registration or licensing procedures. Formally, it is exempt from prior control.
  • Between 700W and 30kW, prior notification to the General Directorate of Energy and Geology is required through its portal, a process that is quite simple.
  • Between 30kW and 1MW, the process becomes a little more complex. First, a registration—prior registration—is required, and then, after approval of the registration and installation by the UPAC, an inspection request is submitted, followed by the issuance of the exploration certificate.
  • Above 1MW, the process requires the issuance of two licenses, first for production and then for exploration, which involve several procedures and communications with other entities, making the process more complex and time-consuming.

Sunsei Energy can support companies in managing this entire process, simplifying each step.

Professional and responsible sizing of a UPAC depends on:

  • Available space on roofs, land, parking lots, or even facades, at the location where it will be installed;
  • Maximum electrical power allowed to be connected to the electrical infrastructure at that location;
  • Type of self-consumption to be implemented, that is, whether it will be for individual consumption only or for collective self-consumption;
  • Total volume of electrical energy of consumers and how this energy is consumed hourly, daily, and monthly;
  • Whether batteries can be installed in the UPAC to store energy in excess of instantaneous consumption needs.

Electricity will always be self-consumed instantaneously, therefore, correct sizing must consider, hour by hour, how renewable energy will be produced, self-consumed, and, if applicable, stored and discharged from the batteries.

In addition to your company’s usual requirements when selecting a new partner, choose a company that guarantees:

  • A qualified and skilled technical team, whether to install the envisioned system or to ensure its proper operation and long-term maintenance;
  • The necessary proximity to act whenever a scheduled or unforeseen technical intervention is necessary;
  • Financial stability that guarantees at least the amount invested, in the event of an unforeseen event.

At Sunsei Energy, we develop specifications to support companies in launching market inquiries that guarantee the contracting of a properly sized UPAC with an installation company that encompasses all these characteristics, and finally, ensure that all defined requirements are materialized in the contract, both during construction and during operation.

To this end, Sunsei Energy offers engineering and consulting services, both technical and commercial, at any stage of a photovoltaic system’s life cycle. These services are divided into:

  • Feasibility study: Detailed study of each client’s installations and energy consumption to determine the most appropriate solution for both the existing space and their electrical needs;
  • Detailed engineering: Engineering projects for bidding processes, plant licensing, or construction execution;
  • Bidding processes: Development of Terms of Reference with technical, commercial, and operational requirements aligned with the client’s modus operandi and management of the various stages of the market consultation;
  • Specialized consulting: Supporting companies in implementing these systems, accelerating business and operations, developing new products, and professionalizing their technical, commercial, or management teams.

We have a team with the know-how and experience to develop all these services in various business sectors:

  • Industry
  • Agriculture
  • Commerce
  • Services

We are present from North to South of Portugal, offering customized solutions and technical support at every stage of the project.