"When the issue of storage has been dealt with, targets will be brought forward”

Carlos Relancio, director of Renewable Energies at Galp, believes that the targets set for the decarbonisation of Europe by 2050 will be brought forward once a viable solution for the storage of energy has been found

Not even the pandemic has managed to undermine Galp's plans to invest in energy transition. The company has already reinforced its intention to continue investing in renewable sources of production in line with its investment strategy, in which 40% of the total investment planned for 2022 will be channeled into this area, 10% to 15% of which involves the production of solar power, guaranteed Carlos Relancio.

As a member of the panel assigned to the leaders in the sector at the virtual Large Scale Solar Europe conference, he said he believes major steps will be taken in this area in the next three years. “Galp ended the year as the biggest producer of solar energy in the Iberian peninsula with almost 1 GW of installed power in operation” he revealed to the audience.

The main driver in the renewable energy sector is now the issue of storage, which will play a major role in the coming years. “Storage will be the key to the growth of solar energy. When this happens, nothing else will stop us. This will be when everything in terms of technology will happen”, he added. Hence, he is aware that this is the right time to invest in innovation and to reduce storage costs, thereby improving energy management. “I believe the issue of storage will be dealt with quickly and, as such, targets for the total decarbonisation of Europe by 2050 will be brought forward. This is all happening at an amazing speed and we need to be prepared for it”, he emphasised.

“Targets for the total decarbonisation of Europe in 2050 will be brought forward"

While participating at the event, the director of Renewable Energies also said that Galp views its assets from an industrial perspective and that its management process must be active: “That´s why we have a very strong innovation department designed to serve the entire company. This department constantly shows us the best paths to follow”.

Energy transition plays an essential role, in both economic and, above all, social terms, such as the sustainability of the planet and savings in health systems. In his opinion, many things are not being taken into account with regard to profitability and that will need to be a part of future profitability, as the benefits of this type of energy production are incredibly good.

Carlos Relancio is pleased that the European Commission is at the forefront of the issue of renewable energy, but warns that more attention needs to be paid to regulatory issues, explaining that “this industry´s business plans are affected by regulatory laws, especially when attempts are made to regulate more than is necessary. Policies should be concerned with providing far clearer rules for markets, investors and inter-company relations, and not with creating more distortions in price markets and shuffling investments”.