Repsol invests $834 Million in Spanish Ecoplant, now that windfall tax is gone

Repsol will invest over 800 million euros in a green methanol facility in northeastern Spain. The company announced this on Wednesday after the parliament rejected extending a temporary tax on windfall profits for large energy companies.

The company said that the Ecoplant in Tarragona will be operational in 2029. It is expected to be able process up to 400,000 tonnes of municipal waste annually, and transform it into 240,000 tonnes of renewable fuels, and circular products.

Repsol announced that the Ecoplant will receive funding from the EU Innovation Fund for Low-Carbon Technologies. The European Commission estimated it could save 3.4 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions in its first decade of operation.

Spanish energy companies like Cepsa Iberdrola Naturgy Endesa Repsol and Repsol warned that the extension of the 1.2% levy for companies with a minimum turnover of 1 billion euro would put 30 billion euros of renewable energy investments at risk. The tax was rolled over every year from Dec. 2022, but is now gone.

Repsol threatened in October to halt investments worth 1.5 billion euro in waste-to energy and green hydrogen plants if the windfall taxes were made permanent.

Fossil Fuel Companies are increasingly betting on renewable fuels, such as sustainable aviation oil made from waste cooking oils, to help them meet regulatory and climate goals.

(source: Reuters)