Spain pays first arbitral award in long-running dispute over renewable subsidies
A spokesperson for the Energy Ministry said that on Thursday, the Spanish government had agreed to pay 37 million dollars to an American fund in order to settle a dispute over renewable energy subsidies which were reduced more than a decade earlier.
After the conservative government of Spain cut renewable subsidies in 2013, to reduce an artificially low power tariff deficit that had been built up over years, foreign investors, mainly investment funds, filed a lawsuit against Spain.
Blasket renewable investments, a U.S.-based fund, had acquired rights to the award. It was originally awarded by JGC Holdings Corporation of Japan in 2021 under a ruling of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes of the World Bank.
The court rejected Spain's bid to annul the ruling in 2024.
The payment is not in conflict with the March decision of the European Commission, which told Spain to avoid paying up if a similar situation arose. This would violate EU state aid regulations, which prohibit governments from giving unfair benefits to one company over its competitors.
The spokesperson stated that the cases from non-EU investor represent only 5%. He added that Spain continues to use all legal means to protect its interests.
The spokesperson stated that Spain had been ordered to pay approximately 1.5 billion euro in different cases. In addition, the country was able to reduce the amount requested by investors by 85%.
(source: Reuters)
