CSP World

International investment funds with interests in Concentrated Solar Power plants in Spain have sued Spain over changes in the renewable energy regulation framework.

RREEF, an investment vehicle by Deutsche Bank and Antin, a French investment firm related to BNP Paribas, bought 90% stakes in Andasol 1 and 2 to ACS at an estimated cost of €830 million.

Both lawsuits have been filed with World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Dsiputes (ICSID), due to cuts in regulated purchase price for selling electricity generated by the CSP plants, estimated in a 35% according to Spanish CSP idustry body.

British firm Allen & Overy is representing both companies, according to the request for arbitration proceeding filed last November 22.

The British investment fund Eiser, founded by Dutch bank ABN Amro, also represented by Allen & Overy, filed the request last December, 23.

Eiser has a stake of 36.95% in Spanish CSP plants Aste 1A and Aste 1B and a 33.83% in Astexol 2, the remaining shares are owned by Spanish companies Aries and Elecnor. The investment in the three CSP plants is estimated to be €935 million.

Spanish CSP plants were developed under a regulation framework which granted a purchase price for the electricity generated over a 25 year period. The price was around 27 eurocents per kWh, although it was reviewed yearly to acomodate to inflation. The Government announced a series of changes in the regulatory framework which ended up in an estimated 35% cut in revenues for CSP plants due to a new system to determine the electricity price and a reduction in the energy generated by the plants subject to be considered as renewable due to the use of natural gas in most of the plants to allow a quick startup and reduce the effect of transient clouds.