For foreign companies in the sector – equipment manufacturers, engineering firms, cleantech startups… – this means direct access to the world’s largest clients.
In November 2024, Siemens Gamesa and Iberdrola signed a contract worth more than one billion euros for the supply of 64 turbines for the East Anglia TWO offshore wind farm in the United Kingdom. Two groups, two headquarters, Munich and Madrid. An intercontinental contract managed from the Spanish capital, like dozens of others every year. Three years earlier, the same partners had already formalised the maintenance of 1,928 MW across 69 wind farms in Spain and Portugal, making Siemens Gamesa Iberdrola’s principal O&M supplier on the Iberian Peninsula. A significant share of the global energy transition is managed from Madrid, quietly and at scale.
A concentration with no equivalent in Europe
Iberdrola, global headquarters in Madrid, the world’s leading offshore wind energy producer, with an investment plan of €41 billion for 2024-2026, including €15.5 billion allocated to renewables. Acciona Energía, headquartered in Alcobendas, in the northern suburbs of Madrid, managing more than 13 GW across 40 countries, one of the five largest renewable energy developers in the world. Endesa, the Spanish subsidiary of Enel, headquarters in Madrid. Red Eléctrica de España, operator of the national electricity transmission network, Madrid. Four world-class players within a fifteen-kilometre radius…
For a supplier – components, engineering, asset management software, maintenance… – being based in Madrid means being where tenders are prepared, where project teams work, where sourcing decisions are made.
R&D: the research centres are here
Madrid is home to the research centres of Iberdrola, Acciona and Siemens Gamesa. For a company specialising in energy storage, green hydrogen or smart grids, the Madrid region offers direct access to joint development programmes run by world leaders, partnerships that are structurally difficult to initiate from a distance.
NextGenerationEU: the obligatory point of entry
Spain is one of the two largest European beneficiaries of NextGenerationEU funds, with an envelope of €163 billion, a significant share of which is directed towards the energy transition. The agencies, development banks and specialist funds that assess and co-finance these projects are based in Madrid.