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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Fernando de Noronha is a volcanic archipelago about 350 kilometers off the northeast coast of Brazil. It takes its name from the largest island, a protected marine national park and ecological sanctuary with a rugged coastline and a great diversity of ecosystems. It is famous for its unspoiled beaches and is perfect for scuba diving, as sea turtles, rays, dolphins, and reef sharks swim in its warm, crystal-clear waters. A natural paradise and UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has made a strong commitment to decarbonization. The goal is for the main island to be entirely powered by green electricity by 2027. Neoenergia, Iberdrola's subsidiary in Brazil, has begun construction of the Noronha Verde Solar Power Plant, a milestone for the energy transition in the archipelago. With an investment of 350 million reais (approximately 50 million euros), this pioneering project in Brazil envisions the installation of more than 30,000 photovoltaic solar panels integrated with advanced battery storage systems (BESS), aiming to decarbonize the archipelago's energy generation. The initiative is part of the More for Noronha Program and is a collaborative effort between the Federal Government through the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) and the Government of the State of Pernambuco. Implementation will take place in two phases: the first will be operational by May 2026, and the second in the first half of 2027. The project has been authorized by the Pernambuco State Environmental Agency (CPRH), with the consent of ICMBio, the manager of the Federal Conservation Unit, according to Neger.

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Electricity demand in Spain reached 255,759 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in 2025, representing a 2.7% increase compared to the previous year, according to data from Red Eléctrica de España (REE). Taking into account calendar and temperature effects, the increase in demand would be 1.5% compared to the previous year. Thus, electricity consumption in the country has registered its second consecutive year of growth, following the sharp declines experienced in 2023 and 2022. In 2025, it is estimated that self-consumption installations generated 13,485 GWh, representing a 5% impact on national demand. Renewables, meanwhile, reached a 55.5% share of the total Spanish energy mix in 2025, a figure aligned with the year-end forecasts published by Red Eléctrica. Including the estimated self-consumption, this final share rose to 56.6%. In terms of energy generated, green production exceeded 150.8 GWh, a record high for renewables. Wind power was the main source of generation in the Spanish energy mix, accounting for 21.6% of the total, followed by nuclear (19%), solar photovoltaic (18.4%), and combined cycle gas turbines (16.8%). In December, renewables generated 5.2% more than in the same month of 2024, registering 11,361 GWh, which represented a 48.9% share of total production, according to data from the system operator. Meanwhile, 69.7% of the month's electricity production came from technologies that do not emit CO₂ equivalent. Wind power was the leading source, generating 5,379 GWh, which represented 23.2% of the total, 1.5% higher than in the same month of the previous year. This was in contrast to combined cycle gas turbines, with a 21% share, and nuclear power, with 20.7%. Hydropower increased its production by 32.1% compared to December 2024, reaching 3,260 GWh, or 14% of the national total. Meanwhile, energy storage technologies enabled the integration of 605 GWh into the Spanish electricity system this past month, thus optimizing the use of energy generated by renewable technologies. An additional 380 GWh have been allocated for export to neighboring countries.

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Girona lags behind in green energy investment. Unlike other regions of Catalonia, the Girona district has no operational wind farms and only about ten functioning photovoltaic installations. However, both the Catalan government (Generalitat) and the Ministry for Ecological Transition are currently processing over 200 renewable energy projects that are expected to be implemented in the coming years. Many of these future wind and solar farms have generated controversy, facing opposition from residents and town councils in small villages. Citizens have united in various protest platforms, and last week, more than 40 Girona town councils joined forces to voice their discontent to the Catalan government's delegation. They all reiterate that, despite being in favor of a green transition, the projects planned for their area are "oversized," will damage "the natural environment," and regret that they were designed "without considering the opinions of local communities."

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Catalonia continues to lag behind in renewable energy production: it ranks at the bottom of the list in Spain and Europe. It's proving very difficult, far too difficult, to catch up. Brussels' demands and our own commitments, approved by Parliament in 2017, are ambitious: by 2030, 50% of electricity demand should be covered by renewable energy, and by 2050, the goal is for clean energy to meet all demand. Right now, these targets seem unattainable. We have a serious problem.

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Renewable energy production in Catalonia reached 1,497 GWh in the third quarter. This represents a 4.5% decrease compared to the same period last year, in contrast to the 2% increase across Spain as a whole. This is according to the quarterly report from the Renewable Energy Observatory, prepared by the consultancy firm Opina 360 using provisional data from Red Eléctrica. The main reason for this decline is wind power production, which plummeted by 26.3%.This was mitigated by the growth of hydroelectric power.(16.7%) and photovoltaics (11.3%). This drop in renewable energy generation has caused green energy to lose ground, falling to 14.8% of total electricity generated in the quarter, seven-tenths of a percentage point less than a year ago. In addition to Catalonia, eleven autonomous communities generated less electricity from renewable sources than a year ago, most notably the Basque Country (-22.3%), Extremadura (-14.8%), and the Valencian Community (-14.4%). Conversely, non-renewable generation increased by 0.8 percent thanks to a 22.4 percent increase in combined cycle gas turbines, which offset the decline in nuclear (-1.6 percent) and cogeneration (-11.4 percent). "Catalonia has not managed to consolidate the increase in renewables from last quarter due to the sharp decline in wind power. This hasn't even been offset by the increase in hydropower, fueled by the generous water reserves for 2025," notes the director of Opina 360, whose projects were not yet under Juan Francisco Caro's leadership. "These factors have resulted in a very significant boost to installed capacity," adds Caro.

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Pere Borràs, director of Generation at Estabanell, calls for accelerating the processing of permits to advance renewable energy and asks to extend the limit of shared self-consumption to a radius of 5 km to better utilize this renewable energy and boost distributed generation.

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The energy company Naturgy, through its innovation platform Innovahub, is promoting a pioneering project in Spain for the development of floating photovoltaic technology in the open sea, in collaboration with the start-up Spanish company BlueNewables, as reported this Tuesday by the company chaired by Francisco Reynés. This initiative, which has received a grant from IDAE – a state agency – within the framework of the Renmarinas program, seeks to explore new renewable solutions that will advance the decarbonization of energy. The project involves the design, manufacture, commissioning, and monitoring of two 500 kW units, optimized to operate in ocean environments, according to the company. The technology used is based on an innovative catamaran-type design, which allows for the use of more economical floats and the placement of solar panels further from the direct impact of waves, thus improving the maintenance and performance of the generation panels. Naturgy explained that, within the framework of its collaboration with BlueNewables, they will work together on the exchange of technical, operational, strategic, and economic information derived from the development of the pilot project, both during manufacturing and the testing phase. This collaboration will extend for two years from the system's launch, including performance data, technical issues, operational reports, costs, lessons learned, and technology deployment strategies.

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China has clearly become a world leader in renewable energy, both in wind and solar power generation. This is no coincidence. It was a necessity, but also a technological gamble that, in turn, entails economic leadership. It is well known in the sector that the most competitive brands in solar panels are Chinese. But the country led by Xi Jinping has gone further: technology has also made it possible to connect all the production facilities scattered across a vast territory with a digitized, ultra-high-voltage transmission network.

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Decarbonizing strategic sectors, promoting self-consumption, and reducing energy dependence on foreign sources. These are three of the major challenges facing Catalonia's energy system, but also three crucial opportunities to completely rethink it. To address these challenges and move towards a cleaner, more efficient, and more sovereign model, there is a key element: the electrification of demand. This was the starting point for the third edition of the ARA-CEEC Conversations, a conference co-organized by the newspaper ARA and the Catalan Energy Efficiency Cluster (CEEC), with the collaboration of Estabanell, which brought together experts, institutions, and companies to analyze how to transform the country's energy consumption in a sustainable way.

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The government gave the green light this Tuesday to the new renewable energy decree, which aims to promote green energy and storage and which regulates energy communities for the first time. The decree, In a first version, it was approved in June, But it didn't receive parliamentary approval and was withdrawn before validation. Now, however, the government headed by Salvador Illa seems likely to be able to push it through. after agreeing on the content with ERC and common.

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US President Donald Trump has been harboring animosity toward wind energy since wind turbines ruined his ocean views at one of the tycoon's golf courses in Scotland. Since Trump returned to the White House, he has also claimed that wind farms are "ugly, expensive, and an unreliable source of energy," and has launched a crusade against the wind energy industry. One of the companies that has felt the most headwinds from the US administration is the Danish energy giant Ørsted, a pioneer and world leader in the construction of offshore wind farms, with two of its major projects currently under construction in the US.

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