Spanish solar power is going through a shake out after a plunge in electricity prices left the owners of weak projects in one of Europe’s top renewables markets searching for exits.
The country has become a solar champion thanks to abundant sunshine and the government’s pro-renewables policies. But a surge in power production has outpaced demand, depressing electricity prices and profits for generators.
Some power producers are struggling to offload plants whose valuations have plunged as executives talk of solar “saturation”, creating a contrast between Spain and other places — China, India, Gulf states and European neighbours — where solar arrays are being built apace.