The energy crisis unleashed in 2021 served, among many other things, to put Spain on a map in which it did not usually appear, that of the leading countries in energy production, in this case renewables, in the world. The first in deployment volume in Europe.
This leadership has been able to be taken advantage of by the large multinationals in the sector that are transferring this knowledge to the rest of the world, as they already did with fossil energies. The fact that Spain was never a relevant actor in the risk of fossil energies was an impediment for its companies to conquer the world. Now the opposite happens.
Almost from their beginnings, Iberdrola, Repsol, Naturgy and Cepsa were placing their chips throughout the planet and that led them to be present in an average of more than 20 countries. The renewable energy boom has somewhat changed the rules of the game. Now, the general trend is to withdraw from countries more linked to fossil production and concentrate on Europe, the United States and strategic countries in Latin America where the demand for renewable infrastructure and services is on a clear upward trend.
A favorite destination is the United States. In a country always so linked to cheap fossil energy in its territory, there is not only a huge demand, especially for networks that support the new electricity demand; There is also a huge amount of money to finance it supported by the famous Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), with 433,000 million dollars of direct investment and mobilization capacity of up to 739,000 million.
The US is precisely the country in which Iberdrola has set its maximum interest along with the United Kingdom and Brazil. The company chaired by Ignacio Sánchez Galán is the one that has achieved the most success in this green reconquest. The company from Bilbao, strong for its hydroelectric production and with important combined cycle gas assets, was already launched into the world at the end of the last century with Iñigo de Oriol as president. But it was in 2001, when Ignacio Sánchez Galán became president, when he saw before almost everyone that the future was going to be green.
Since then, Iberdrola has raised that flag and has positioned itself as the first European electricity company and the second in the world by market capitalization. It is ranked number 8 in the world in the ranking of the most valuable energy companies in the world prepared by the consulting firm Brand Finance. Endesa and Naturgy occupy steps 27 and 28, respectively in that classification.
The bulk of its future investments until 2026, 36 billion euros, are concentrated in the US, followed by the United Kingdom, France and Germany. After the great deployment in photovoltaics, now step on the accelerator in offshore wind. In January, it inaugurated its first park of this energy in the US, Vineyard Wind, on the coast of New England and is developing another nine in different locations on the coasts of northern Europe. It also has the largest electrolyzer in Europe for the production of hydrogen and many other milestones.
The IRA has also placed the US as the destination country for Repsol’s largest international investment, according to its latest strategic plan. It will invest 30% of the 4 billion expected in international investments there until 2027.
What was once the main Spanish oil company continues to be present in 20 countries throughout the world in its activity linked to fuels, and the company is now focused on expanding its decarbonization strategy. However, it was not until 2021 when it reinforced its “green reconquest” via inorganic growth with the acquisition of 40% of Hecate Energy, an American company specialized in the development of photovoltaic and battery projects to store energy. Two years later, in 2023, it acquired ConnectGen, a Houston-based renewables group with a 20,000 MW portfolio. Mexico, where the oil company had a lot of strength, is also the focus of the commitment of Josu Jon Imaz, his CEO. The Industrial Complex in Sines, the largest investment in Portugal in a decade, was the work of Repsol to build new recyclable materials.
Another notable transformation is the one that Naturgy is addressing. Present in more than 20 countries, 42% of its ordinary profit came from international business in 2023 thanks to the extensive gas value chain, but also to its renewable commitment. The company chaired by Francisco Reynés is another one that does not miss the opportunity in the United States, where it has completed construction of its first photovoltaic plant and has the Grimes project (269 MW) in Texas underway. Although its strongest bet is in Australia, with three wind farms and two photovoltaic projects. It plans to reach an operational renewable capacity of approximately 1 GW in 2024.
The case of Cepsa is peculiar. The Spanish oil company, whose main shareholder is Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi business holding company with global presence in its exploration and production activities, changed its strategy to join the process of encouraging decarbonization. In 2020, it presented the Positive Motion strategy in Madrid in which it committed to investing 8 billion euros until 2030 focused on sustainability. Since then, the company has identified Spain as the strategic center of what could be considered its green reconquest. Its Hydrogen Valley in Andalusia will house the largest green methanol plant in Europe in collaboration with the world’s largest shipping company, Maersk, for which it will be a supplier of renewable fuel for its cargo ships.
Another of its strategic agreements is the one signed with the port of Rotterdam to establish a green hydrogen supply corridor to Central Europe.
