On the verge of launching an investment vehicle in photovoltaic energy in Spain, Francisco Fontán, co-founder of Austral Venture Gestión, has analysed the outlook for this industry in Spain.

«The most important thing when investing is that the project makes sense and yields attractive returns. We have the best ingredients to focus on photovoltaic technology».

The co-founder of Austral Venture Gestión says that photovoltaic energy is one of the most efficient on the market. «In 2008, the cost of installing a megawatt was almost 10 times higher than it is today, it is cheap energy and it makes sense».

However, he acknowledges that there are a number of improvements, such as storage, that need to be worked on.

«There are still many questions to be explored in order to achieve a leading sector in Spain», says Fontán.

Listen to the full interview on Mercado Abierto

Spain, a leading country in renewable energies

«The biggest handicap that Spain has right now is trying to align all the agents in the sector to move towards renewable and less polluting energies», he said.

The manager gives three reasons for investing in this type of industry: the European commitment to cleaner technologies, the need for technology penetration to reduce the cost of electricity, and Spain as a country where renewables make sense in terms of hours of sunshine.

Moreover, according to Fontán, we have learned from past mistakes and there is no latent risk of regulatory change. «The government should try to bring together the voices of all the actors in the sector to avoid making mistakes like the one made by cutting tariffs after the start-up of the first plants», he said.