The annex on Solar Thermal Energy Capture in the general environmental ordinance of the Barcelona City Council went into force in August 2000 for the purpose of regulating the incorporation of solar thermal energy capture and use systems for the production of sanitary hot water in the city’s buildings.

The Solar Ordinance affects newly built, rehabilitated and fully reformed buildings and those seeking to implement a change of use, with a forecasted volume of sanitary hot water demand equal to an average annual energy consumption of over 292 net megajoules (MJ).

This regulation applies to buildings intended for residential, health-care, sports, commercial and industrial use and, generally, any activity involving the existence of dining rooms, kitchens, laundries or other circumstances that lead to a large consumption of hot water.

The monitoring and assessment of the development of the Solar Thermal Ordinance is one of the projects of the Barcelona Energy Plan, which the Barcelona Energy Agency has been managing since May 2003 through an agreement with the Barcelona City Council.

The Barcelona Energy Agency is preparing a new text of the Ordinance with a lower threshold of application in order to make it applicable to almost all the city’s new and rehabilitated buildings. With the aim to achieve the maximum consensus for its development, the Barcelona Solar Energy Bureau has been formed. All the stakeholders involved in the application of the rules and the implementation of solar energy in general in the city are represented in this body.

The Barcelona Energy Agency has published a Guide to Solar Thermal Energy Facilities, using an easily-understood language and graphic resources to make known the characteristics of solar thermal technology and the positive effects to be derived from its use.