Clara Hernanz Lizarraga and Alonso Soto, Bloomberg News
MADRID
EnergiesNet.com 04 06 2022
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez invited Elon Musk to visit his country after the world’s richest man tweeted that it could power all of Europe with solar energy.
Musk should “come and see” that Spain is already investing heavily in solar, Sanchez tweeted Tuesday, in response to earlier posts from the billionaire entrepreneur. “We welcome investors in Spain.”
In a subsequent tweet, Musk acknowledged that Portugal could also develop large-scale solar projects.
Musk’s tweets come as European governments scramble to come up with alternative energy options to cut the continent’s dependency on Russian gas. Sanchez is a big advocate of clean energy, and in December his government announced plans to invest as much as 16 billion euros ($17.5 billion) in the energy transition through 2026. Andalusia, a sunny region in southern Spain, provides the cheapest energy in all of Europe.
Renewable energy firms were among the biggest gainers on the Spanish stock exchange on Tuesday, following Musk’s comments.
Also on Tuesday, Twitter Inc. announced that Musk will join the company’s board, after he disclosed a 9.2% stake in the company this week.
bloomberg.com 04 05 2022
