Telefonica forms Spanish solar energy JV with Repsol

Spanish telco group Telefonica is getting into the solar self-consumption game through a joint venture with compatriot Repsol.

There seem to be few areas of diversification Telefonica won’t consider these days, so we shouldn’t be surprised by it taking the opportunity to get involved with energy company Repsol. Solar self-consumption seems to be the new term for domestic solar energy. The JV is called Solar360, which seems a tad optimistic even for Spain, and it will offer the full Monty of domestic and business solar panel goodness.

“Telefonica is committed to being a 100% renewable company and achieving the goal of zero net emissions by 2025,” said Emilio Gayo, Chairman of Telefonica España. “Today, we already use photovoltaic energy in our own centers, and we want to contribute our operational and technological capabilities to guarantee Solar360’s customers the best service. We are confident that our partnership with Repsol, the market leader in energy solutions, will ensure our future success.”

“With Solar360 we are embarking on an exciting journey in a long-standing alliance, the most complete in the market, in which customers can be even more in control of their consumption and feel part of the energy transition, with the support of two major companies,” said María Victoria Zingoni, GM of Customer and Low Carbon Generation at Repsol.

Gayo’s statement seems to focus more on corporate virtue signalling than the business case for this new venture. This is consistent with Telefonica’s recent embrace of the WEF agenda, which allocates corporate social credit to companies that go along with its arbitrary KPIs. The WEF is also keen to downplay profit as a primary corporate, which may explain Gayo’s apparent indifference towards that side of things. It’s not clear whether Repsol shares that position.

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