Pinsent Masons advises Ørsted on its entry into the Spanish renewables market

Pinsent Masons advised Ørsted on the establishment of four joint ventures with local Spanish developers Glide Energy, Rolwind, Arba Energías Renovables and Ereda for the development of solar and onshore wind projects across Spain. The purpose of the joint ventures is to develop several projects which will be submitted to Spain’s first ever grid capacity auctions, expected to be called by the Spanish Government by the end of 2022.

Pinsent Masons advised on all aspects of setting up the joint ventures including due diligence and negotiating the investment agreements, sales and purchase agreements, shareholders agreements and development services agreements. The team was led by partners Pablo Dorronsoro and Borja Martín and involved Marta Salazar Díaz and Olimpia Ortega among others.

Pablo Dorronsoro said, “Renewable energies in Spain has grown significantly in the last few years, but there remains a lot of untapped potential for developers, investors and operators. For the foreseeable future, demand for electricity will grow faster than any other energy source so projects like these are vital if Spain is to have a chance of meeting this demand and achieving net-zero targets. This marks another chapter in our long history of supporting Ørsted as they continue to disrupt renewable markets, specifically calling on our strong regulatory expertise to ensure these new joint ventures will be fit for purpose in anticipation of Spain’s first ever capacity auction.”

The Spanish government has set out to reach 70% renewable generation by 2030 followed by 100 % renewable generation by 2050. The country plans to develop 39 GW solar PV, 50 GW onshore wind, 3 GW of floating offshore wind, and 40-60 MW of various types of marine energy by 2030.