IPFA Europe, Madrid
Decarbonising the Spanish Economy: Regulatory and Market Challenges
This event will feature a series of panel discussions, bringing together investment funds, financial institutions, and leading companies to explore the future of renewable energy generation, energy storage, renewable gases, and data centres in Spain.
Panel 1: Renewable energy generation and storage: Current situation and future prospects
This session will address the main regulatory and market challenges for the deployment of renewables in Spain, as well as the opportunities afforded by storage. It will also offer an overview of other battery energy storage markets, such as the UK, and explain the key features that make them bankable.
- Sarah Pollock, Partner, Energy & Infrastructure, Herbert Smith Freehills
- Rocío Sicre, Country manager for Spain, EDPR
- Alberto de la Torre López, Development Manager Iberia, Foresight Group
- Ubaldo Yáñez Díaz, Country Manager Iberia, Masdar
Panel 2: Renewable gases: Challenges and future prospects
Renewable gases, such as biomethane, green hydrogen and synthetic fuels, are emerging as key solutions for the decarbonisation of sectors that are difficult to electrify (industry, transport, etc.). These energy carriers offer a sustainable and scalable alternative, but their development faces various challenges such as regulation, cost competitiveness and the infrastructure necessary for their deployment and integration into the market. In this session, we bring together investment funds and companies in the sector to analyse the current outlook and address the main challenges facing this sector in Spain, which has seen slower progress than expected.
- Miguel Fraga, Partner, Energy & Infrastructure, Herbert Smith Freehills
- Antoni Macià, Investment Director, Suma Capital
- Ryan Miller, Managing Director, KKR
- Uffe Winther, Managing Director, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners
Panel 3: Data centres: Opportunities and challenges for the creation of new technology hubs in Spain
With significant investments announced by investors for the deployment of data centres in Spain, the sector is urging the Spanish government to increase electricity grid capacity to meet the new energy demand. The sector is also facing a number of challenges with the emergence of artificial intelligence and digital services. This panel will discuss the status of electricity grid planning, the procedures for accessing and connecting to these networks, the impact of flexibility mechanisms, the role of energy efficiency in data centres and other challenges encountered in the development of data centres.
- Guillermo Uriarte, Partner, Energy & Infrastructure, Herbert Smith Freehills
- Francisco de Bergia, Investment Director Infrastructure Private Equity, Azora Capital
- Pedro Gómez, Digital Infrastructure, Strategy and Development Director, Member of the Executive Committee, Ferrovial
- Francisco Rivas, Director, Merlin Properties
- Elliot Zounon, Director Data Centre solutions Iberia, CBRE
Event Details
Registration and networking: 9am
Discussion begins: 9.30am
Cocktail: 1.30pm
Format: In-person briefing; panel discussions and interactive Q&A followed by a networking reception
Address: Calle Velázquez 63, 28001, Madrid