• The long-promised combined heat and power (CHP) auctions recall Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot, in which two characters wait for a certain Godot who never arrives—and whom they don’t even know.

  • Pamesa, the largest European ceramic manufacturer, has been forced to sell one of its two cogeneration turbines. “It’s been exactly four years without being able to make any investment decisions,” said Fernando Roig, president of Pamesa.

  • While combined cycle plants are beginning to integrate renewable energies, cogeneration facilities are left waiting for those auctions-unable to invest and paralyzed by regulatory uncertainty.

  • Certainty is not a luxury; it is a necessary condition for the energy transition to be not only green, but possible.

August 8, 2025

Uncertainty kills industry. This statement, which we at Foro Industria y Energía have repeated on many occasions, finds its latest and most worrying example in the case of Pamesa. The largest ceramic manufacturer in Europe has had to sell one of the two cogeneration turbines it installed last year, a victim of the regulatory deadlock that this energy technology is facing in Spain.

Fernando Roig, president of the group, put it bluntly: “It’s been exactly four years without being able to make any investment decisions.” His statement captures the paralysis facing an industrial sector that needs long-term planning but is confronted with a regulatory framework that offers no guarantees for strategic decisions.

The Pamesa case: a symptom of a structural problem

With 100 MW of installed cogeneration capacity, Pamesa illustrates the challenges facing Spanish industry. Thirty percent of its cogeneration capacity reached the end of its useful life in 2022, and to this day, there is still no regulatory framework allowing its renewal or transition to more sustainable models. It has remained nearly inactive since then, awaiting auctions that never materialize, despite government promises made as far back as 2021, like the Godot in Beckett’s play.

In reality, cogeneration isn’t even being given the chance to invest in sustainability improvements and to play its potential role as a key transition technology for Spanish industry.

The paradox is clear: while we talk about decarbonizing industry and improving energy efficiency, companies are being forced to dismantle recent investments due to the absence of a stable regulatory framework. The auction draft published in 2021 was never followed up, and the new framework presented in February imposes conditions that, according to Roig, “would place the ceramics industry at a clear disadvantage, especially due to the requirement for 30% mandatory self-consumption.”

It is no secret that combined heat and power (CHP) still relies on natural gas. But denying its role as a transition technology would be a mistake, and a risk for the industrial sector that depends on it. This is even more critical in a context where the expectations around green hydrogen are falling short of industry needs. As Roig himself pointed out, Pamesa has been forced to substantially scale back its investment in hydrogen. While combined cycle plants begin hybrid operations with renewables, such as the initiatives by Repsol and Ignis in Escatrón, cogeneration facilities are still waiting, unable to invest, victims of ongoing regulatory limbo.

Combined heat and power (CHP) is a mature technology that could evolve toward more sustainable models if given the necessary investment push. The current standstill not only blocks its development but also prevents its potential from being properly assessed within a diversified and resilient energy mix.

This leads to an inevitable question: what should we do with existing cogeneration facilities? Rather than discarding them prematurely, we could be investing in making them more efficient and aligned with decarbonization goals. Without investment, they remain stuck in conventional models-despite having the potential to be part of the solution. The lack of a stable framework is forcing us to shut down options before even exploring their evolution. If even alternatives like hydrogen present more uncertainties than certainties today, why abandon a technology that, with the right support, could progress toward a greener model?

Toward a framework of certainty: urgent solutions

In an environment where certainty is fundamental for business planning, it is essential that public authorities understand the impact of persistent uncertainty on industrial development. It’s not just about approving new regulatory frameworks—it’s about ensuring their long-term stability and predictability.

The case of Pamesa is not an isolated incident; it is the symptom of a structural problem that demands an urgent response. Regulatory uncertainty is slowing the industry’s energy transition at the very moment when decarbonization of the economy must accelerate.

As we have repeatedly warned from Foro Industria y Energía, ongoing uncertainty is one of the greatest threats to the planning and development of our companies. We cannot allow regulatory indecision to continue claiming victims in the form of frozen investments, abandoned technologies, and missed opportunities.

Spanish industry is ready to lead the energy transition, but it needs the right regulatory tools. Political paralysis is not an option. The age of uncertainty must come to an end if we want our companies to remain competitive in a world increasingly driven by sustainability and energy efficiency. Certainty is not a luxury; it is a necessary condition for the energy transition to be not only green, but possible.