The Spanish oil and gas firm Cepsa has announced a pause on its €3bn (US$3.3bn) investments in green hydrogen projects if the Spanish windfall tax on energy revenues becomes permanent. The company explained that it would prefer to prioritise on its international expansion with projects in countries like the United States, Brazil, Morocco and Algeria, that had initially been planned for the second phase of its transition strategy.
The Spanish government has expressed its interest in modifying a 1.2% tax imposed on energy companies with a turnover of at least €1bn (US$1.1bn), originally established for a two-year period back in December 2022, to become a permanent measure.
Cepsa’s decision echoes Repsol’s recent announcement of its decision to put in stand-by its investments in the green H2 plants in Cartagena (100 MW), Tarragona (150 MW) and the Basque country (100 MW), citing an unfavourable regulatory environment.
In its updated NECP (2023-2030), Spain targets to install 12 GW of green hydrogen capacity.