The interdisciplinary background of our professionals enables us to provide broad and comprehensive advice in the energy sector, covering all angles of business law (corporate/commercial, regulatory compliance, environmental, tax, financial, among others). The close collaboration between our energy sector lawyers and G-advisory, Garrigues’ consulting arm offering technical, economic and strategic advice on energy and ESG matters, means we are able to gain a broad-based understanding of the complexities of energy deals, giving us a unique market perspective. As a result, clients receive unparalleled service from a team that is not only highly respected in the sector but also participates in the largest, most significant and most complex deals.
We advise the main domestic and international industry players (energy operators, promoters, developers, funds, construction companies, traders, haulage contractors, financial institutions, insurers, etc.) on a broad range of transactions, covering the entire energy sector, including electricity, oil, gas, renewable energies and mining. Among other engagements, we provide advice on the sale and purchase of portfolios of renewable energy assets (whether in operation, greenfield and/or brownfield), project finance, contracts for the sale, purchase and supply of electricity, oil, oil and gas products, shipping of oil, oil derivatives and LNG, international trade, contracts for oil and gas exploration and production (covering up, mid and downstream activities), TPA contracts, transmission, storage and regasification contracts, development services agreements, EPC contracts, O&M agreements, power purchase agreements, and joint ventures, including technical and legal (regulatory compliance, environmental, corporate and contractual, tax) due diligence. We also assist clients with all regulatory aspects and are experts in regulatory analysis in the electricity, renewables, oil and gas sectors, as well as in litigation and arbitration in relation to take-or-pay supply contracts and system access.
Our services
M&A and commercial contracts
- Sale and purchase of energy firms.
- Joint venture agreements for the joint development of renewable energy generation projects.
- Development agreements for renewable energy projects.
- Structuring and execution of the sale and purchase of individual or group projects, both through the purchase of holding companies or project owners and through the sale and purchase of assets, including monitoring the fulfilment of conditions precedent mainly to ensure that projects are ready to build (RTB) or meet the commercial operation date (COD).
- Project contracts such as construction (EPC), turbine supply, utilities, balance of plant (BOP), operation and maintenance (O&M), and physical and financial power purchase agreements (PPA).
- Contracts for system access, storage, transmission, regasification, distribution and trading of gas.
- Gas take-or-pay supply contracts.
- Electricity supply contracts.
- International trade – Incoterms in relation to the sale and purchase of fuel oil, gas oil, kerosene, etc., international transactions.
- Contracts for the shipping of crude oil and LNG products (bareboat charters, time charters, voyage charters), marine insurance, etc.
Regulatory compliance
In regulatory matters, we have highly specialized teams in all areas of activity (generation, transportation, distribution, and commercialization) that make up the electricity supply chain (including the field of renewable energy), as well as in the gas and oil sectors. Our advisory services also include assisting operators in relation to their participation in organized electricity and natural gas markets and the application of other possible remuneration regimes. Additionally, we have extensive experience in providing ongoing regulatory advice to major players in the nuclear sector in all aspects related to the operation of the nuclear power plants comprising the Spanish nuclear park, as well as in the management and storage of nuclear fuel and waste.
In all these areas, our advice primarily focuses on issuing reports and opinions on various regulatory issues (i.e. those related to the exercise of activities, the rights and obligations regime for system participants, their status as critical operators, or compliance with the regulatory regime for stakeholding in the energy sector). We participate in due diligence processes in the framework of national and international project finance and buying and selling transactions. We also provide advice in the processing of authorizations, permits, concessions, and other enabling titles, including the submission of necessary communications and responsible declarations when required. Additionally, we assist our clients in their interactions with the relevant authorities and major sector regulatory bodies (CNMC, CSN, OMEL/OMIE, MIBGAS), both regarding the regular development of their activities and in relation to any regulatory initiatives that may impact the applicable regime in different energy sectors. Finally, we also provide guidance to operators in all types of administrative procedures (including the sanctioning regime) and legal assistance in administrative litigation procedures at all levels, including the Constitutional Court.
Tax
Recurring advice to businesses operating in the energy sector, as well as on all tax aspects relating, among others, to projects for the acquisition, sale, reorganization and financing of energy assets, renewables, self-supply and energy efficiency, and power purchase agreements.
Our services also include advice on tax incentives and specific taxes affecting the energy sector at national, regional and local level, in terms of both direct and indirect taxation (including special taxes on electricity and on oil and gas, the tax on the value of electricity output, specific VAT on trading in energy products, special features of local taxes, regional taxes linked to energy generation, etc.).
G-advisory
360º advice covering all types of energy, in particular: wind, photovoltaic, CSP, biomass, biogas, hydropower, cogeneration and waste-to-energy technologies. Experts in M&A and financing transactions, offering a broad portfolio of services: technical and commercial due diligence, market studies and regulatory analysis, pool price projections, PPA negotiations and commercial advice.
Full-service ESG: design and implementation of compliance systems, sustainability, green financing and climate change, among others. Advice on project finance and M&A, waste treatment and management, water supply and treatment systems, etc. Wide-ranging climate change services.
Global head
+34 91 514 52 00
Other Garrigues services
Publications
Spain: Here is the new procedure for marine renewable energy installations
The new administrative rules on authorization of these installations involve a process in stages and the simultaneously granting of the renewable energy economic regime, an access capacity allocation for the transmission grid and a preferred right…
The European Union sets its sights on the complete decarbonization of the building stock by 2050
The new directive on the energy performance of buildings tackles the need to reduce the environmental impact of the building sector, which accounts for 40% of total energy consumption in the EU and 36% of its greenhouse gas emissions.
Chile: Approval of Significant Changes in Recognition and Compensation of Energy Storage Systems and Hybrid Plants
A methodology has been introduced to evaluate and recognize the power capacity of stand-alone energy storage systems, and the availability of data and studies has been improved to accurately identify peak hours that determine the calculation and…
Mexico reinstates conditions for Clean Energy Certificates (CELs)
This encourages investment in power generation plants through clean energy and achieves higher profitability in the commercialization of CELs.