US firm NextEra Energy has filed a complaint against the Spanish government with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) for policy changes that limit PV investors' returns.
A now-defunct subsidiary of NextEra, was behind two concentrating solar power (CSP) projects in Spain.
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The ICSID is a branch of the World Bank that intervenes in international investment disputes. It is already dealing with complaints against the Spanish government over its controversial PV policy reforms. An investment subsidiary of the UAE’s Masdar lodged a case in March 2014.
Speaking at the time of the Masdar filing, Jose Donoso, director general of Spanish trade group Union Espanola Fotovoltaica (UNEF), told PV Tech: “I think that Spain can change in the future. The problem with these lawsuits is that they take a very long time to settle, but we expect that they will influence the government to change the law in favour of the investors.”
In March 2013 NextEra filed a lawsuit against 16 banks that had provided it with project finance in a court in New York. The company claimed a drop in support for the projects limited its own financial obligation to them. The case was voluntarily dismissed by the end of the year.