The co-founder and executive president of Holaluz, Carlota Pi, receives ARA a few hours after the company has presented the allegations against the file from the Ministry of Ecological Transition that opens the door to the disqualification of the company as a marketer. First thing the next day, at the company's offices, Pi defends that Holaluz's business model is "one hundred percent viable" and that, what it needs, is "scale". She cannot confirm or deny that an alleged non-payment to large electricity companies is the reason for the possible disqualification. She defends, however, that the company's debt "is not excessive, not by a long shot".

Renewable energy companies, research centers, and professionals are sounding an alarm: "It has been a very, very, very bad year," assured Víctor Cusí, one of the spokespeople for the Observatory of Renewable Energies of Catalonia (OBERCat), during the presentation of the annual report.

The Catalan energy company Holaluz has gone from being considered a success story to being one step away from losing its operating license. Last week, the Spanish government began the procedures to withdraw its consideration as an electricity marketer and a procedure to transfer their clients to other reference companies. However, what has happened since the applause in entrepreneurship forums and the headlines for Holaluz to have reached this point?

The Spanish stock market for SMEs BME Growth suspended this Monday the trading of shares of the Catalan energy company Holaluz, after the Spanish government reported on Saturday that it has initiated the administrative procedure to extinguish Holaluz's license as an electricity marketer.has initiated the administrative procedure to extinguish the license of Holaluz as an electricity marketer.

Naturgy has a presence in more than twenty countries around the world, where it operates in the fields of gas and electricity distribution, renewable energy generation, and energy commercialization. With a significant presence in Europe and Latin America, the company has also extended its activities to the Southern Hemisphere. Its presence in Australia dates back to 2007, and since then it has contributed to the development in the country of a more sustainable energy mix, with projects that generate jobs, revitalize rural communities, and facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The general blackout of April 2025, like all traumatic events for the population, changed many things. Spanish strategic infrastructures, from communication towers to power plants, and essential services such as hospitals, have strived to find alternatives to stay afloat when there is no electricity. Most of these hotspots have traditional diesel generators, which cover their short-term needs, but also place logistical limits on activity. Eliminating these obstacles is the raison d'être of Atom H2, one of the most acclaimed startups in the Catalan ecosystem, which closes the electrical wound with renewable generation and a patented hydrogen technology. "We want to be the new standard for generators," says Anna Martín, one of the project's co-founders, in conversation with ARA.

Spaniards have saved an average of 10 euros on their electricity bills during the energy crisis of recent months caused by the war in Iran, according to the latest study by Ember, the independent energy think tank that advocates for energy transition and electrification. According to Ember's analysis, the savings on Spaniards' electricity bills have been possible thanks to the deployment of renewables and, therefore, the reduced use of gas in electricity generation.

Atomkraft? Nein, danke! I must have been fourteen when, on the first day of school after the holidays, Laia, a classmate who had spent the summer in Germany, showed up in class with a t-shirt with this slogan printed next to a smiling sun. I remember being impressed and trying my best - unsuccessfully - to get my parents to get me a similar t-shirt.A few years earlier, the oil crisis had turned the world economy upside down, and many countries had begun to consider formulas to increase energy sovereignty and depend less on crude oil producers. The nuclear option seemed obvious almost everywhere, except in Bonn, then the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany. The anti-nuclear movement was so powerful in the country that one of the largest European demonstrations against this technology took place precisely in Bonn in 1979.The German anti-nuclear commitment predates the great contemporary climate discourse. And this legacy, which still weighs heavily, has pushed the country to difficult-to-explain decisions: closing nuclear power plants while keeping coal power plants open and while relying on gas as a central energy source in the balance of the German electrical and industrial system. Several calculations have quantified the price of this renunciation at around €700,000 million.The underlying idea is undeniable: the nuclear phase-out has not been free of charge, neither in economic nor in geopolitical terms. Germany, however, has made a monumental investment in renewables, and by 2025 these sources already covered about 56% of gross electricity consumption. But if it had not dismantled its nuclear park, the tensions that German industry has had to face due to its dependence on gas — and especially on Russian gas — would have been much more bearable.The German case can help us understand the Catalan situation. Today, around 57% of the electricity produced in Catalonia comes from the three operational nuclear power plants. It is also known that the country is lagging in renewables: we continue to be far below the weight they already have in other territories of the State, and a relevant part of renewable generation continues to be hydroelectric. The rest of the system still relies, in large part, on fossil technologies.

Workshops, recreational activities, in-person exhibitions, and digital resources on self-consumption with solar panels, energetic rehabilitation of buildings, energy certification, charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, and many other related topics flood the months of June and July during the European Sustainable Energy Week in different municipalities of Catalonia. The campaign, an initiative of the European Commission with the objective of promoting energy efficiency and renewable energies in the European Union, opens a period of reflection to rethink our relationship with energy. Conferences, workshops, visits to facilities, competitions, and all kinds of activities are organized throughout Europe and are open to the general public, and are also aimed at energy sector professionals, authorities, companies, and NGOs, among others.

The largest energy cooperative in Europe is based in Girona. What began in 2010 as a project linked to the UdG seeking to break the oligopoly of the big electricity companies has managed to become a recognized player in the Catalan energy landscape and also in the State as a whole, with 87,000 members.

The fable of the cicada and the ant contrasts those who spend the summer entertained without worrying about winter – the cicada – with those who seek and store food to face the cold months – the ant –. When bad weather arrives, the former finds herself destitute and asks the latter for food, who eventually takes pity on her. During the worst years of the Great Recession, this story resonated across Europe: the State and other southern countries were seen as those who did not do their homework, while the northern countries, led by Germany, were the ants. Dutchman Jeroen Dijsselbloem summed it up like this when he was president of the Eurogroup in 2017: "I cannot spend money on alcohol and women and then ask for help".

The Catalan energy company Estabanell has signed a syndicated loan of 22 million euros with Triodos Bank and the Institut Català de Finances (ICF) to deploy 16 of its own photovoltaic solar parks. In a statement, the Catalan company, based in Granollers (Vallès Oriental), explained that Triodos will contribute 15 million and the ICF the remaining seven million.

Distributing renewable energy generation across the territory to meet the goal of zero emissions by 2050 is the objective of the Territorial Plan for the Implementation of Renewable Energies (PLATER). This plan details how much photovoltaic energy each municipality must contribute and how much wind power each region must generate. The plan has just received preliminary approval, and a three-month public comment period will soon open so that town councils, regional councils, and any other interested parties can submit their input. The aim is for final approval early next year.

Hashimoto Takuma was three years old when he and his family had to hastily leave their home in Iwaki. It was March 11, 2011, the day a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck. They impacted the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japanand caused the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. The surges breached the containment walls, flooded the cooling systems, and triggered core meltdowns in three reactors and hydrogen explosions. The accident forced more than 150,000 people to evacuate their homes to survive. From that day forward, Fukushima became an active nuclear disaster, a situation that persists to this day.

Forestalia is a major Aragonese renewable energy company that is quite well known in Camp de Tarragona: it intended to promote a 287-kilometer high-voltage line, 181 of which are in Catalan territory, to bring electricity from Aragon to Catalonia. A project, controversial at the time, which is now history. However, the headaches for the company are not over, and now the dust is being generated by an alleged environmental corruption case that, for the moment, has resulted in six arrests. What is being investigated?

Let's take it step by step. The case has already been dubbed the Forestalia case. This Friday, a hearing for precautionary measures is scheduled by the magistrate responsible for the case. Broadly speaking, an alleged environmental corruption scheme affecting the province of Teruel, in Aragon, is being investigated. The case came to light ten days ago, when the Central Operational Unit for the Environment (UCO) of the Guardia Civil arrested six people, including a former senior official from the Ministry for Ecological Transition, Eugenio Domínguez, and the owner of the company, Fernando Samper. Searches were also carried out in Madrid and Zaragoza. Juan José Cortés Hidalgo, head of Court of First Instance and Instruction No. 1 of Teruel, is directing the investigation under judicial secrecy.

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The Basque Country, Catalonia, and the Valencian Community are the three regions with the lowest proportion of renewable energy generation relative to their total electricity production, according to data published Wednesday by Red Eléctrica de España, the state-owned company that operates the Spanish electricity system. Specifically, in the Basque Country, only 17% of the energy generated is from renewable sources; in Catalonia, it's 18%; and in the Valencian Community, it's 20%. At the other end of the spectrum are Castile and León, with 94% of its generation from renewable sources; Aragon, with 83%; Galicia, with 82%; and Castile-La Mancha, with 69%. These figures, however, must be put into context. For example, in the Community of Madrid, 50% of its generation is renewable, yet it is a region that produces very little energy overall. Thus, Madrid's renewable energy production is 625 GWh, while Catalonia's is 6,935 GWh.

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Endesa will invest a total of €10.6 billion between 2026 and 2028, the company announced on Tuesday, presenting its strategic plan for the next two years. Of that investment, 5.5 billion euros will go to the distribution network (52% of the total), according to the company. This investment plan is the company's largest in the last twelve years (since it began operating solely in the Iberian Peninsula), exceeding the previous strategic plan for 2024-2026, which amounted to €9.6 billion, by 10%. The company has also submitted its 2025 results to the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). These results have surpassed the upper end of forecasts for both gross profit (EBITDA) – €5.756 billion, up 9% – and net ordinary profit – which grew by 18% to €2. The company will propose increasing the dividend to be distributed to its shareholders by 20% more than previously planned (€1.30), to €1.58 per share. This figure is also 20% higher than the dividend distributed in the previous year and represents a dividend yield of over 5% for the year.

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Catalonia was the first region in Spain to have a wind farm, but He lost the initiative a long time ago.And for many years it has lagged behind the rest of the country in green energy generation. Now, however, faced with the new challenge of renewable energies – storage to ensure supply when the wind isn't blowing (wind power) or the sun isn't shining (photovoltaics) – Catalonia wants to take a step forward.

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Geopolitics has always been an important factor in explaining the economy, but at the current historical moment, the way in which major powers wield political power over the economic landscape represents a turning point. There has been extensive debate to find compelling economic reasons behind the US intervention in Venezuela. However, some analysts are beginning to suspect that a particular vision of the exercise of power, and not solely or even primarily economics, is the prevailing reason behind many of the Trump administration's decisions. Venezuelan crude is relatively expensive to extract, and it is unclear whether major oil companies consider it profitable, under current conditions, to invest the enormous sums required to substantially increase current production levels. The US administration may value control over Venezuelan crude as an opportunity to extend its influence over the market and manage future inflationary pressures, but this factor does not appear, for now, to be decisive. Despite the rebound in oil prices following the situation in Iran, the underlying trend is downward.

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One of the promises that has haunted Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese since he won the 2022 election is to lower energy costs. During that election, which returned Labor to power after a decade, Albanese promised that bills would fall by AU$275 (about €160) by 2025. Three years later, and despite efforts from the right, Labor renewed its majority last May without any change. According to Energy Consumers Australia, the cost of electricity and gas remains a concern for 79% of households. Now the government is proposing legislation to introduce three hours of free energy between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., starting this July. "The Solar Sharer Offer is about ensuring that we make the most of solar energy, including ensuring that the benefits of cheap solar energy reach consumers who don't have solar panels," said Energy Minister Chris Bowen, in a country with four million residential solar installations.

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