Clean energy is the new currency – and Spain is cashing in

Artificial Intelligence, data centers, electric vehicles, population growth, economic growth… these are power-hungry times and countries that can provide cheap, clean electricity are increasingly attracting more investment – as Spain is currently finding out.

With over 300 days of sunshine, government subsidies, and a surge in investment from private industry, 2024 was the best year ever for solar in Spain.

One company calls it the 'rooftop revolution,' as private homes and businesses increasingly see solar as a safe investment.

CGTN went on-site with Alexis Las Heras, the CEO of Lumio Solar, a company he started when he was 25 that helps people to sell energy from their rooftops. 

Two years later he was on the Forbes '30 under 30' list.

"Right now is a very good moment because there is a very good atmosphere in the energy transition world," Las Heras told CGTN.

"An installation of around 13 panels costs around 7,000 euros [$8,100], but you save 1200 euros [$14,000] each year. Imagine putting this money and getting that kind of return in the stock market…

"It's very secure because you're 100 percent sure that you're going to save money in your existing bill, and these last at least 30 years."

From sunshine levies to sunshine profits

Ten years ago Spain had a tax on the sun – charging individuals for installing solar panels after big power companies and the oil lobby managed to win legal arguments that energy self-sufficiency was equal to unfair competition.

That tax was abolished in 2018, the same year that current Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez came to power, and energy self-sufficiency is 17 times more common now according to the government Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy.

Spain is now a European leader in solar power holding the top spot for the most operational utility-scale solar capacity and having more capacity under construction and in development than other European countries combined.

The Sanchez government bet big on renewables and that bet is paying off in an era where energy is the new currency.

The Bank of Spain says electricity prices are 40 percent lower today than they would be if wind and solar energy production had remained at 2019 levels, and in 2024 renewables accounted for close to 70 percent of Spain's entire energy generation.

The formula is simple: Bring energy costs down, watch foreign direct investment go up – like the $4 billion CATL-Stellantis EV battery gigafactory under construction in Zaragoza in the northeastern Aragon region.

The Aragon Autonomous Community is one of Spain's powerful regional governments, and its Director General of Economic Policy, Javier Martinez, says this move was a long-term play. 

"We understood years ago that we don't have any oil and we had to look at alternative power sources because we knew energy was the future," he tells CGTN. 

"Now 89 percent of the power we produce is renewable, because we have a lot of sun and wind. That was an important factor for CATL – to have clean, abundant energy produced nearby."

The Chinese company CATL is the biggest EV battery maker on the planet, and now many other big names are lining up too. 

US asset management giant Blackstone is planning a major data center investment in Aragon which could bring in over $13 billion, while Meta and Amazon are also involved in data centre projects in Toledo and Valencia.

Low-cost energy, high-value investment

"This isn't magic, it's geography and engineering," says Angel L. Rodriguez, Head of Renewable Energies for leading Spanish renewables and infrastructure company Elecnor.

"For these companies to be able to sign a PPA – a power purchase agreement – for 15, 20 years, not only does it guarantee them energy at a fixed price, it also shields them against inflation or price fluctuations.

"That gives them a huge competitive advantage over companies that operate in markets based on dirty energies like gas or coal."

Spain's energy sector isn't standing still either, it's working to become a leader in green hydrogen and solar-powered water desalination plants, aiming to export technology, energy, and expertise to the world, cutting both costs and carbon emissions.