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Spain's parliament rejects extension of windfall tax

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Moeve plans to start green hydrogen production in 2027

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Moeve's 2 gigawatt green hydrogen target by 2030 unchanged

By Marwa Rashad

LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Spain's decision not to

extend an energy windfall tax provides the regulatory certainty,

Moeve, the country's second-largest oil company, needed to start

building its flagship green hydrogen project this year, the

company's chief executive said.

Spain's parliament last week rejected several decrees put

forward by the country's minority left-leaning government,

including one to extend a 1.2% windfall tax imposed in late 2022

on energy companies with a turnover of at least 1 billion euros

($1.04 billion).

"We've had some regulatory issues in Spain around tax levels

and that has slowed down the industry...putting an end to the

idea of a windfall tax will allow the industry to invest," Chief

Executive Maarten Wetselaar said in an interview with Reuters.

"A responsible thing to do is to kick-start industry. We

would like to start building (the green hydrogen project in

Huelva) this year and by 2027, we would have the first 400

megawatt (MW) (plant) in the world by 2027," Wetselaar said.

In October 2024, Wetselaar said Moeve would delay

investments worth 3 billion euros in its 2 Gigawatts (GW)

electrolysis plant in southern Spain if the windfall tax became

permanent.

Wetselaar has been among the most vocal critics of Spain's

windfall tax on energy companies' domestic sales. It had to pay

566 million euros in 2023 and 2024 for this tax.

Moeve is building the project in phases. It has a target to

produce 2GW of green hydrogen from the project by 2030, he said.

"We continue to see the south of Spain as the best place in

Europe to make green hydrogen and its derivatives, and since

Europe is going to need a lot of this, we are in the right zip

code," he added.

Owned by Abu Dhabi fund Mubadala and U.S.-based private

equity firm the Carlyle Group CG.O, Moeve is investing up to 8

billion euros to shift to low carbon energy and sustainable

mobility, focusing on green hydrogen, which is produced without

using fossil fuels, as well as biofuels and electric mobility.

Moeve, which in Oct. 2024 rebranded from its former name,

aims to make most of its profits from sustainable activities by

the end of this decade.

The European Commission has set out targets to produce up to

10 million metric tons of renewable hydrogen by 2030 and import

a further 10 million tons. The non-binding goals are part of the

bloc's plans to end its reliance on Russian energy imports.