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3 September, 2025
“Regulatory differences between autonomous communities introduce uncertainty and lack of uniformity”
Negratín is an industrial and services group based in Granada that designs, builds, and operates large solar facilities, particularly large photovoltaic parks in Europe, America, and Asia. The company offers comprehensive services including financing, promotion, EPC engineering, execution, operation and maintenance, BESS storage, hybridizations, and innovations with renewable hydrogen.
To learn more about its business model and vision for the photovoltaic sector, pv magazine interviewed David Torrego, General Manager of Energy and Facilities at Grupo Negratín.
Question: What is Negratín’s business model?
Answer: At Negratín, we are EPC contractors with a 360° view of the business. We participate in all phases of the life cycle of a renewable energy project: from engineering design, construction, and commissioning to operation and maintenance, including evacuation infrastructure, in collaboration with leading developers in the energy sector.
Negratín designs, builds, and operates large solar facilities, especially large photovoltaic parks in Europe, America, and Asia.
In addition, we promote the deployment of renewable assets from their earliest stage of development to their delivery to the customer once they become operational. In this way, we adopt an IPP profile in key markets, which allows us to consolidate an active position throughout the value chain.
How did you make the leap to becoming EPC contractors?
Our evolution has been organic and very solid. We started more than 25 years ago as installers and gradually took on greater responsibilities until we became main contractors.
The EPC business took off in 2016 in the oil and gas sector, rapidly evolving towards large renewable generation plants, pivoting in recent years towards large solar farms (≥ 50 MW), and now accounts for 70% of the group’s turnover, with occasional hybridizations, to which are added storage solutions and the study of projects with new energy vectors such as green hydrogen.
How many MW of photovoltaic energy have you installed in 2024 and how many do you plan to audit or install in 2025?
Throughout our history, we have participated in projects totaling more than 4.5 GW in renewable energy, with 1.6 GW executed under EPC or BOS modality in the last five years. In 2024, we installed a total of 345 MWp, and by 2025 we already plan to audit or execute approximately 546 MWp, in line with our sustained growth and active demand in markets such as Colombia and Spain.
How do you see the role of storage systems?
The energy transition needs more than just renewable energy: it needs intelligence, flexibility, and storage. At Negratín, we have been committed to new energy vectors such as batteries and renewable hydrogen for years, integrating them into real and viable solutions adapted to each project.
Through our Innovation and New Business area, we design hybrid models that combine photovoltaic generation with energy storage, optimizing power and capacity based on grid conditions or available renewable resources. This vision drives us to invest in technological innovation and strategic alliances that accelerate decarbonization and open up new opportunities for sustainable growth.
What financial factors currently determine the development of renewable energy projects?
The viability of projects is conditioned by an increasingly demanding financial context: high interest rates, higher profitability requirements, and processing times that directly impact schedules. These factors necessitate solid planning from the outset.
How do you view the current market situation in this context of low equipment prices?
This situation puts significant pressure on margins and increases competition among the various market players. While lower prices open up new development opportunities and allow for the expansion of many projects, they also increase the demands on EPC contractors, who must adjust their margins without losing control over the technical quality of the installations.
Sometimes, this pressure can lead to a loss of reliability or quality if it is not managed with the necessary criteria. However, the current maturity of the sector requires operating with increasingly efficient structures, not only at a technical level, but also logistically and contractually, to ensure the sustainability of the business model.
Isn’t the market oversaturated with supply, with very low energy prices?
While it is true that this situation is observed in some mature markets, we believe that it is partly due to a temporary excess of renewable capacity compared to current demand or storage capacities. However, this context poses new challenges and opportunities: the sustainability of the market depends on sending the right price signals to encourage investment in management, flexibility, and new technologies.
At Negratín, we believe that, although the environment is demanding, there is room for operators capable of adding value and long-term vision. Our international experience allows us to identify and develop smart projects that adapt to the evolution of the energy model. In addition, we believe that there is room to differentiate ourselves by providing technical efficiency, integrating advanced solutions, and offering a global perspective on each project, thus contributing to a sustainable energy transition.
What are the obstacles or bottlenecks in the sector?
Administrative delays remain one of the main bottlenecks, especially in obtaining and legalizing permits. We also see challenges in the supply chain and in the availability of qualified personnel in some territories, which can directly affect project planning and execution. Added to this is constant pressure on prices, which requires increasingly efficient and rigorous management by EPC contractors.
Experience in diverse markets and vertical integration of services are essential to maintaining quality, deadlines, and profitability even in demanding environments.
Do you currently see any legislative obstacles affecting project development in Spain?
Projects continue to encounter significant delays in administrative procedures, both in obtaining permits and in grid connection processes, which directly affects execution schedules. In addition, regulatory differences between autonomous communities introduce uncertainty and a lack of uniformity in deadlines and requirements. Added to this, in some cases, is the scarcity of resources in public administrations, which further slows down technical or environmental assessments and hinders the progress of projects.
At Negratín, we have a team that has in-depth knowledge of local operations and maintains proactive collaboration with the various administrations. Thanks to our experience, we are able to anticipate potential bottlenecks and work in a coordinated manner to prevent these barriers from having a negative impact on project timelines and viability.
What developments and forecasts do you have for 2025 and 2026? Are you considering new developments or new markets?
Our efforts are focused on consolidating our activity in the markets where we already operate successfully. Colombia will continue to be one of our priority areas, with increasingly ambitious projects, both in EPC mode and in our own development and investment.
At the same time, we are strengthening our presence in Italy and strategically analyzing the potential of the United States. These are markets that require a long-term approach, but in which we see clear opportunities to apply our model of vertical integration and sustainable growth.
Overall, 2025 and 2026 will be years for consolidating capabilities, continuing to invest in innovation, and expanding our presence as an energy player with an industrial vision and long-term commitment.
This interview was published by PV Magazine on September 3, 2025, and signed by journalist José Pedrosa.