Solarplaza Summit | Iberia

Chema Zabala is leading Alantra's specialized advisory business focused on Energy Transition. He brings over 15 years of international experience in energy markets, sustainability, and climate resilience, with a strong background in strategy consulting and the economic/financial performance of energy sector companies. His expertise encompasses advising authorities, utilities, and investment funds on the development and valuation of storage and renewable energy projects across Europe. Throughout his career, Chema has combined a focus on commercial operations with leading the implementation of significant projects in international environments, demonstrating a passion for new technologies, policy, and the economic aspects of sustainable energy.

Cecilie is a research analyst for the Global Energy Storage team at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables, focusing on European, Middle Eastern and African storage markets. Before joining the storage team, she contributed to Wood Mackenzie’s Middle East and Africa solar and onshore wind analysis, monitoring project development updates, asset transactions and policy updates. Prior to joining Wood Mackenzie, she worked as an ESG and social impact analyst for a financial services firm. In that capacity, she focused on EU regulation and international frameworks and advised on sustainability-related investments. Cecilie holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from IE University in Madrid, Spain.

As part of the investment team of Encavis AG in Hamburg, Julius Weidemann is responsible for executing PV transactions from start to finish (including DD, proprietary valuation and bidding, leading contract negotiations such as SPA, EPC, PDA/ DSA, Project Financing Agreements) across inter alia Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany. Both the acquisition of fully developed and/ or grid connected assets but also (and mainly) the establishment and the supervision of PV development partnerships (just like the one with the organization experienced in the management & optimization of assets and a small developer close to Seville) lie within his core activities.

Since 2005, Inés has developed her career in the PV sector, in different companies of the value chain operating in the manufacturing, development, EPC, and O&M of grid-tied, distributed generation, and off-grid projects. She has held positions in business development, project development, and project management in Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific. She is the Founder of sociallicense.energy, a team of experts in Sustainability and Social Innovation for renewable energy and storage projects, committed to facilitating the social acceptance through an in-depth analysis of the local context and the implementation of customized strategies to ensure their success. The methodology used allows local communities to identify with projects throughout their life cycle, creating the conditions for lasting consensus and generating value for companies and communities.

Having worked in various technological domains such as Cyber Security, Telecom, and Renewable Energy, Ariel's expertise extends across a spectrum of technologies, with a particular emphasis on Software as a Service (SaaS). At enSights, Ariel envisions revolutionizing how Owners and Managers oversee their renewable assets. Through innovative automation, enSights empowers its customers to significantly reduce operational expenses while enhancing operational efficiency by an impressive 7.8%. With the power of artificial intelligence, enSights and Ariel are committed to propel the clean energy industry into a sustainable future.

Deniz Ersan is a member of the investment team at Encavis AG in Hamburg. With a strong background in the financial industry, he is deeply involved in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities across the entire renewable energy value chain. Deniz also specializes in managing PV and wind transactions from start to finish, including due diligence, valuation, bidding, and contract negotiations. Additionally, he focuses on setting up strategic development partnerships to enhance Encavis AG's growth. His work spans multiple countries across Europe, including Spain.

Lluís is currently the Head of Energy Storage Consulting Team at One Solar. He graduated in industrial engineering and specialised in applied computational methods. The last 9 years of his professional career he has focussed in battery energy storage technologies. He worked 6 years at the Fraunhofer Institute (Germany), where he was devoted to applied research in battery engineering, battery performance and degradation modelling, and energy management system (EMS) solutions. Since 2021, he works at One Solar (Spain), promoting and developing stationary storage projects for grid applications and for large consumers.

Daniel Garasa works as a Research Analyst at Wood Mackenzie, working in floating solar market research and analysis. He also covers both wind and solar project research in Europe. Prior to joining Wood Mackenzie, he worked in Iberdrola where he was a solar project engineer. In that capacity, he supported analyses on the design and performance of PV arrays, both ground-mounted and floating PV. Daniel studied at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid where he received undergraduate and master’s degrees in Energy Engineering and Renewables Energy in Electricity Systems, respectively.

Kim specialises in transaction support as an independent market and economic advisor for major power project developers, financiers, and fuel suppliers. In total, he has supported the successful completion of 72GW of conventional and renewable power projects and 726MIGD of water desalination projects with a transaction value of USD44 billion over the past 23 years, including 15GW in Spain since 2018. Experience across most of Europe, parts of Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. Partner at K4K (international focus) and EKON (focused on Spain and Portugal). Contributor to academic papers, industry periodicals, conferences and workshops

Slawomir is a Partner and Investment Director at Solas Capital, specialising in Product-as-a-Service (PaaS) business models for over a decade. At Solas Capital, he develops European markets and has successfully closed numerous transactions, including financing one of Europe's largest behind-the-meter solar PV installations. Previously, at Philips Lighting (now Signify), Slawomir designed and implemented the Light-as-a-Service (LaaS) model, which became a reference for Product-as-a-Service solutions in the energy sector. This approach allows customers to access solar and energy-efficient technologies through subscription services, eliminating upfront capital investments while ensuring ongoing maintenance.

Tomás García is the lead Senior Director of the Energy & Infrastructure Advisory practice in Spain & Portugal at JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle) since April 2020. In this role, he leads the team providing transactional and financial advisory services for renewable energy assets in Iberia. Prior to this, Tomás was the Managing Director of the Solar & Wind Projects business in Spain & Portugal at BayWa r.e. (2019). Prior to this role, he was the Head of Business Development EMEA, Energy Group at Canadian Solar (2017-2018). Before that he served at SunEdison as General Manager, Rural Electrification EMEA (2014-2015) and as Head of Strategy & Market Development EMEA & LATAM (2011-2014). Before that Tomás was Market Strategy Manager at First Solar (2008-2011) and a Strategy Consultant at the Monitor Group (2004-2008). Additionally, he has also worked as a Venture Capitalist, Research Scientist (doing science on solar PV materials), University Teacher and FX Trader. Tomás was a PhD student at Florida International University, earned his MSci at King’s College London and his Masters degree in Physics at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. He is fluent in Spanish and English and functional in Italian.

Alejandro is Director of Ecologic Transition at beBartlet, the first public advocacy cabinet of Spain. He is the former Director of Regulation and Studies of UNEF, the Spanish Photovoltaic Association. He holds an Industrial Engineer degree from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and a Master in Power Sector Regulation from ICAI Comillas. He has more than ten years of experience in economic and regulatory analysis of the power sector in Spain.

Catalina Bauza Llinas holds a degree in Law, a Master’s in international Relations and Foreign Trade, a MBA in International Management and an Executive Development Program (PDD) at IESE Business School. Catalina is an accomplished professional with 20 years of experience in international business development, consultancy & advisory, and project management in several countries: including 12 years in the renewable energy sector. She has combined her legal background and her commercial intuition to create networks of key players and build strategic alliances & partnerships in the renewable energy and sustainability markets, with a strong emphasis on digitalization, innovation, disruptive technology, and ecological transition.

Diego has been working in the renewable energy sector for more than 10 years, developing more than 3 GW of wind, PV and BESS projects across different geographies, including Portugal, Spain, Australia, Mexico, and Italy. He is currently leading the Development Team for TagEnergy in Iberia, focusing on the development of PV, Wind Battery Storage.

Alba Fernández holds a Dual BSc in Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. She is currently working at Holaluz, the 100% renewable electricity and gas supplier and is a professional oriented towards sustainability and clean tech innovation. Previous experience in strategic consultancy designing innovation strategy projects for energy corporations and public entities.

Rafael Gómez-Elvira holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and a PDG from IESE Business School. He is currently Director of Public Affairs and Marketing of the OMI Group, the operator of the Iberian Electricity Market, and, since September 2020, Chairman of the EU's Nominated Electricity Market Operators (NEMO) Committee. From October 2017 to September 2018, he served as Chairman of the Nominated Electricity Market Operator of the European day-ahead market. He joined OMIE, part of the OMI Group, in February 2012 as Director of the Chairman & CEO’s Office. In 2017, he was appointed Director of European Affairs, a position he held until April 2019, when he assumed his current role. Rafael has more than 25 years of experience in energy regulation at the national and European level.

Miguel Galatas is the COO and one of the founders of nTeaser, the digital marketplace for renewable energy projects. Miguel holds a degree in business administration, specialized in entrepreneurship and innovation. He started his career working for both energy and tech companies alike before launching nTeaser. Today, he is now focused on equity transactions and more specifically, in bringing transparency and efficiency to this sector thanks to digitalization. nTeaser has become a benchmark in the acquisition of renewable projects, with +100 projects and +5GW for sale, including solar PV, windpower, BESS, and soon, also green hydrogen and biogas projects.

Vicente is the Managing Partner at Circle Energy, where he leads the firm’s strategy and investments in renewable energy projects—including solar, wind, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and green hydrogen. With extensive experience in the commercial development and expansion of green businesses across Europe and LATAM, he has spearheaded the development of solar projects in Spain exceeding 500MW and has been actively involved in wind, BESS, and green hydrogen ventures. Before joining Circle Energy, Vicente spent four years at PwC as an International Tax Manager and was part of the M&A team, advising on cross-border transactions. His international background includes working in London and Vietnam, bringing a global perspective to energy investments. He holds a double degree in Business Management and Law from the University of Valencia.

He is Dr. in Chemical Engineering since 2005, having worked in other fields always related to chemical recycling of materials and products. He has lead projects for hydrometallurgical recovery of elements from alkaline and lithium batteries and the digitalization of New Circular Economy Business Models. Dr. Pérez has been part of the Steering Committees of European Battery Recycling Association (EBRA) and AEPIBAL (Spanish Association of Batteries and Electrical Storage Systems); and member of the Board of the Spanish Battery Technological Platform, BatteryPlat. Currently, he is Head of Energy Storage Area at Iberian Center for Research in Energy Storage for (CIIAE), in charge of new projects addressing new materials for batteries and other energy storage systems (Supercapacitors, Redox Flow Batteries...) together with developments in Circular Economy topics for both current commercial models (Alkaline, Lithium primary and ion,..) and for new incoming (Metal-air, Flow Batteries...).

Miguel Ángel has a degree in Industrial Engineering and a degree in Environmental Sciences from the Polytechnic University of Madrid. He has spent most of his professional career in the environmental field, especially in the renewable energy sector. His extensive experience of 18 years in financing renewable energy assets, first as a technical advisor and then in the financial sector, translates to more than 200 projects and 4.5 GW of photovoltaic plants, wind farms, solar thermal power plants, hydroelectric plants, etc. His career at Triodos Bank started in 2013 developing his work in the renewable energy sector, energy efficiency initiatives and other sustainable environmental technologies. He currently oversees and leads the objectives of this area, which represents approximately 20% of the bank's business portfolio. He is also a spokesperson for Triodos Bank's vision for the energy transition in this sector in national and international forums.

With more than 15 years of experience in the energy sector, Mercedes is the Sr Director of business development for Iberia and LATAM region at GameChange Solar, global leader in manufacturing trackers and fixed structure. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing partnerships and creating strategic customer relationships as well as growing the international business while managing multidisciplinary team. Mercedes is a chemical engineer, a Fulbright scholar, and a MSc in solar engineering from the University of Massachusetts.

María Colom supports companies in accelerating their decarbonization journeys. She also serves as Vice Chair of the Buildings & Prosumers Workstream at SolarPower Europe, promoting policies that empower energy users to become active players in the transition. Previously, she led the Distributed Solar, Storage & Green Mobility division at ENGIE Spain, and held strategic positions at EDPR and UNEF, where she contributed to renewable energy policy and market development at both national and European levels. Her international career spans Spain, Eastern Europe, and Russia. A strong advocate for clean energy, María also brings experience in private equity, economic diplomacy, and has co-founded a start-up. She holds a degree in International Business from Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, a Master’s in Management from CECO-ICEX and a PDD from EOI, Madrid.

Tomás Fraga Martínez is Head of Area in the Secretary of State for Energy at the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. Graduated in Industrial Engineering from the University of A Coruña, he held different responsibilities in the energy field, both nationally and internationally during almost twenty years. After becoming a State Industrial Engineer, he has been working in energy storage, regulation, and procedures at national and EU level.

Josefin Berg, Associate Director in the Clean Energy Technology group at S&P Global Commodity Insights, analyzes the trends and strategies in the downstream photovoltaic (PV) market. Her focus areas include PV demand and forecasts, company strategies (developers and engineering, procurement, and construction providers); mergers and acquisitions, costs, and the integration of PV in the power generation mix. Ms. Berg authors reports on PV markets and trends, and she regularly speaks at industry events. Ms. Berg holds a Master of Science in environmental engineering from Uppsala University, Sweden. She speaks English, French, Spanish, and Swedish and is based in Barcelona, Spain.

Business Developer at Solarplaza

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