Legislation to foment the use of renewable energies and solar thermal energy in building construction: The case of Spain - Solar Energy Sciences and Engineering Applications - page 661

Figure 20.7.1 Solar collectors on a building rooftop (courtesy of Solaris S.L.).
Graph 20.7.2 Percentage of buildings with thermal solar energy installed (Ministry of Development.
Spain).
important source of employment during this period. Of the more than six million jobs
created from 1996 to 2007, 23% were in this sector (Domenech, 2011).
After 2007, there was a sharp drop in the number of houses built, and even today
the residential sector is still in the process of adjusting to this drastic change. In 2011,
the investment in housing construction was less than 4% of GDP. Various studies
coincide in affirming that the housing demand will eventually begin to increase again
and finally stabilize at around 300,000 houses in future years.
The weight of the renewable energy sector in the economy has steadily increased.
From 0.47% of GDP in 2005, the percentage rose to 0.70% in 2009. Wind and
hydroelectric energy are the most important renewable technologies reflected in the
GDP, and together they make up 44.84% of the total contribution of renewables.