Entering Spain's Solar Energy Market as an EPC Contractor: What You Need to Know

Introduction

Spain is one of the most active solar energy markets in the world. Hundreds of gigawatts of pipeline projects, a mature investment ecosystem, and some of the best irradiation conditions in Europe make it an obvious destination for EPC contractors, developers, and equipment suppliers looking to expand.

But obvious doesn't mean easy.

On March 19, 2026, we met with Bogdan Novikov in Warsaw — a conversation that turned out to be one of the more candid and practically useful we've had on the topic of European market entry. Bogdan is Chief Sales Engineer at Axial, a company supplying fixed mounting structures and tracker systems for solar projects across Europe, USA, over the MENA region, and beyond. Before relocating to Spain in 2022, he built three solar plants in Ukraine. He has spent years working in the Spanish market from the inside — and over coffee in Warsaw, he didn't hold back.

What he described is a market full of real opportunity — but one that punishes companies who assume the playbook from their home market will transfer.

Left: Bogdan Novikov, Chief Sales Engineer at Axial. Right: Dmytro Nechyporenko, founder of the nech.

1. The Spanish Solar Market Is Real — and Moving

Before getting into the pitfalls, it's worth understanding the scale of what's available.

The Spanish solar market offers active transaction flow across the entire project lifecycle. Ready-to-Build (RTB) projects ranging from 5 MW to 150 MW are regularly changing hands. Operating assets are sold. New builds are in development across regions like Murcia and the corridor between Barcelona and Madrid.

"These are real projects, and people are entering and executing," Bogdan told us. "And new projects are now increasingly being built with energy storage — that's already coming in as the next major trend."

The market is liquid. The opportunity is genuine. But to access it, foreign companies need to understand how the market actually operates — not how they assume it does.

2. Development Takes 3 to 5 Years. Plan Accordingly.

If you're considering entering the Spanish solar market as a developer — or partnering with one — the first thing you need to internalize is timescale.

Development in Spain takes a minimum of three years, with five years being a realistic upper bound. Permitting, grid connection processes, and regulatory approvals are genuinely complex and cannot be compressed through effort or urgency.

"The minimum is three years, the maximum is five — and that's only the development phase," Bogdan says. "Construction and installation can move fast. But if you have no permit to start work, you simply cannot begin. Everything just keeps getting postponed."

This isn't a complaint — it's a structural reality of the Spanish regulatory environment. Companies that arrive expecting to move at the pace they're used to in Eastern Europe or elsewhere will find themselves constantly frustrated and confused. The better approach is to treat this timeline as a given, build it into your financial model, and focus energy on what you can control.

3. EPC or BOP? The Market Is Split 50/50

In Ukraine and some other markets, it's common for developers to purchase primary equipment — panels and inverters — themselves, and hire a contractor purely for the Build, Operate, Procure (BOP) scope: engineering, civil works, and installation. The contractor doesn't own the supply chain; they own the execution.

Spain is different. Or rather, both models coexist.

"From my experience, it's roughly 50/50," Bogdan says. "In some projects, the client purchases all equipment directly. In others, the EPC contractor manages procurement entirely. And there are also hybrid arrangements — the client buys panels and inverters, but the EPC contractor sources the mounting structures."

For foreign EPC contractors, this means understanding which model a given client or project is using before bidding. Getting the scope wrong at the proposal stage wastes time for everyone — and in a market where relationships matter enormously (more on that shortly), first impressions are hard to correct.

4. Do You Need a Local Entity in Spain?

This is one of the most common questions foreign companies ask — and the honest answer is: it depends on what you're doing, but local presence helps more than most people expect.

For smaller scopes — installation work, sub-contracting specific technical elements — it's generally possible to operate from another EU jurisdiction. But as scope grows toward full EPC, so do the requirements: financial capacity documentation, regulatory compliance, local administrative processes.

"From what I've heard in the market," Bogdan says, "the Spanish government prefers local companies. They want taxes to stay in the country."

Our experience at the nech reinforces this. The closer you are jurisdictionally to your client, the simpler their due diligence process becomes. A foreign company with no local presence is not automatically disqualified — but it carries a burden of proof that a locally-registered entity doesn't face.

If you're serious about Spain as a market, the question isn't whether to establish local presence — it's when.

5. The Cultural Layer Is Real, and It's Not Optional

This is where many companies underestimate the difficulty of Spanish market entry — not on the technical or commercial side, but the human one.

Spain has a distinct business culture, and it operates differently from Poland, Ukraine, Germany, or the UK. Bogdan took about a year to fully adapt. "There is a "choque cultural" (cultural shock), in a good way" he says. "But there's nothing frightening about it — you just need to adjust. What I noticed is that you need more written communication, and you need to hold regular meetings to keep things on track. That's how you maintain control of a process there."

Language is not optional. English proficiency is low in Spain — Bogdan estimates only 5-10% of business contacts speak it fluently, and even those who do generally prefer Spanish. "Even if your Spanish isn't perfect, making the effort shows respect for the country you're coming into, the country where you want to build," Bogdan explains. "If you don't speak Spanish at all, or you try with broken English — that's already a 50% deficit that you may not be able to recover from."

This doesn't mean you need to be fluent before you start. It means you need a local partner, a bilingual team member, or a serious commitment to learning. Showing up and expecting English to carry you is a statement — just not the one you want to make.

Business hours are protected. "Don't schedule meetings between 10 and 11 — that's their almuerzo, their personal morning break," Bogdan says. "Don't schedule meetings from 2 to 3 either. And don't call or write after 6 PM. If they're not at work, they won't answer — and they'll take it as a lack of respect." The Spanish relationship to work-life separation is genuine, not performative. Honour it.

Relationships come before deals. In Spain, personal trust is a precondition for commercial relationships — not a byproduct of them. "If I go to a Spanish contact cold, coming off the street, he won't help me," Bogdan says. "But if I arrive through another Spaniard — that's it. You're a friend of a friend. You're already inside the circle of trust." Spaniards also actively seek out informal contact — time outside the office, conversations that aren't strictly about business. "They're open people, always willing to talk about different things. If you find that connection, it makes everything that comes after much easier. But many people from Northern or Eastern Europe don't understand this — we tend to be more closed."

6. Expect One Year from First Contact to First Contract

Companies that have experience in faster-moving markets sometimes see European procurement cycles as bureaucratic dysfunction. They're not. They're due diligence.

"The omologation process — getting qualified as a supplier with a major client — typically takes a year," Bogdan told us. "We went through an interview process, from first meeting to contract signature, and it took twelve months. And that's completely normal for Europe."

In that time, clients are evaluating financial stability, technical competence, track record, and — critically — the people on your team. "They plan carefully," Bogdan says. "They need to verify your honesty, your reliability, your financial stability, the professionalism of your team. A lot of attention goes to technical details. And they also listen to what other professionals in the market say about you." They're not slow; they're methodical. They want to know you'll still be there for project three and four, not just project one.

The right mental model: the first year is an investment, not a sales cycle. The payoff is a long-term pipeline, not a single deal.

7. Pipeline Thinking Wins in Spain

This leads directly to the most important strategic insight Bogdan shared.

Spanish clients — developers, owners, EPCs — respond to pipeline proposals. Walking in with a single project offer signals short-term thinking. Walking in with a multi-project roadmap signals partnership.

"At Axial, we always approach new markets thinking about pipeline, not individual projects," Bogdan explains. "Showing a client that you're planning for 200-300 MW over two years is what gets their attention. They understand that if they treat you well, you'll be there for the long run — so they behave accordingly. They won't necessarily give you better prices — but they know this is a long-term client, and that changes how they engage."

This shifts the conversation from price negotiation on one deal to relationship investment across many. And in Spain, that's a shift your counterpart will actively welcome.

8. Where to Find the Market: Events That Actually Matter

If you want to understand the Spanish solar energy market before committing resources, there are three events worth knowing:

Intersolar Munich — The world's largest solar industry trade show. Not Spain-specific, but the Spanish company presence is significant. "Go to the website before you arrive and check which Spanish companies will be exhibiting," Bogdan recommends. "That's your map for who to meet."

GENERA (Madrid) — Spain's annual renewable energy exhibition. This is where the Spanish market concentrates domestically — the best single event for building local contacts.

Energyear Spain (Madrid) — "This isn't an exhibition, it's a conference," Bogdan notes. "But it brings together the most important decision-makers in one place. No trade floor noise — just conversations."

These three give you a realistic introduction to who's who. That said, attending events is only a starting point.

9. Associations vs. Independent Experts: Where to Invest Your Time

Many companies entering a new market gravitate toward industry associations as a first move. The logic is intuitive: associations know everyone, can make introductions, and provide market overviews.

Bogdan's view is direct: "Honestly, my personal opinion — it's a waste of time. Associations have different functions. They make money by bringing in many members, running webinars, facilitating communication. But they lobby other interests too — interests that may not be yours. If there are many EPC contractors in an association, why would it open doors specifically for you and not for all the others?"

His recommendation instead: "Find one expert who has been working in this market for at least two or three years, who knows the players, who understands the landscape — and who can tell you in a few meetings who to work with, who has better financial conditions, who actually delivers well and who doesn't. That will be much more effective."

We've seen this play out repeatedly with our own clients. The best shortcut into a new market isn't a membership — it's a trusted local person who can open the right doors.

10. The Market Isn't Scary — If You Approach It Right

Bogdan's closing thought stays with you: "The market isn't as scary as it looks — if you work with people who understand it. But in every market, there are people who say they're professionals and aren't. Find the one person who genuinely knows the terrain, do one project together, and draw your conclusions from that experience. To win clients' trust — to win an EPC contractor's trust — you just need to work with them once. But to get to that first project, you need to go through a full omologation process. These are long-term investments. There's nothing unrealistic here. You just have to go and do it."

The Spanish solar energy market is genuinely one of the most active and commercially attractive in Europe. It rewards patience, relationship investment, and local knowledge. It punishes shortcuts, arrogance about home-market experience, and underestimating the human side of business.

What This Means for Your Market Entry Strategy

If you're an EPC contractor, equipment supplier, or developer considering Spain, here's the condensed version:

• Don't underestimate the timeline. Development is 3-5 years. First contracts take 12+ months to close. This isn't dysfunction — it's the market.

• Understand the EPC/BOP split. Both models exist. Know which one applies to your target clients before you pitch.

• Invest in local presence. Not necessarily on day one, but as a medium-term commitment.

• Take language and culture seriously. Spanish is not optional. Business hours are protected. Personal relationships precede commercial ones.

• Come with a pipeline story. One project is a transaction. A pipeline is a partnership. Spanish clients know the difference.

• Find a local expert, not just an association. The right person saves you a year of wrong meetings.

  
  

Spain is not an easy market to enter. But it's an exceptionally rewarding one for companies that approach it correctly.

At the nech, we help energy companies enter European markets — without the expensive trial and error. If you're evaluating Spain or other EU markets for EPC or equipment sales, get in touch to talk through what structured market entry looks like for your specific situation.