Belgium

Deloitte Legal’s Belgium office counts with a climate and energy team that has vast experience in the renewables sector and stands out for its role in the development of environmental legislation in the area. Led by Kathleen De Hornois and Dominique Vanherck, the team is assisting the Port of Oostende & POM West-Vlaanderen with performing a legal analysis of the rules around the decommissioning, repowering, and refurbishment of offshore and onshore wind turbines in Belgium. The team is further helping the client draw up a commissioning plan with a policy framework for the EU project DECOM Tools.  

The duo is also aiding the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (currently the Clean Hydrogen Partnership), which was established by the European Commission, in a study to examine the development of a hydrogen economy in ports and industrial coast areas. Additionally, Vanherck has prepared a study for OVAM with legislative proposals to amend the EU Waste Frame Directive to include more waste prevention measures. This study could potentially have a major impact on the European legislation relating to circular economy.

At a global level, the firm aims to contribute to the Paris Agreement goals through WorldClimate, an initiative to achieve net-zero emissions within the firm by 2030. Commitments include reducing the firm’s scope 1 and 2 emissions by 70% and achieving 100% energy consumption from renewable sources by 2030. Furthermore, the firm has offered a number of legal conferences and seminars covering ESG related topics, including new green taxes and carbon border adjustment mechanisms. It has also published several publications around new environmental regulations, such as the incorporation of ESG criteria into investments.

Spain

Deloitte Legal counts with a specialised Spanish team that stands out for its work with renewable energy projects. Recently, Ignacio Echenagusia and Maria Guinot led the Spanish team advising Kobus Partners in the sale of a portfolio of several photovoltaic projects with a total capacity of 36,8 MW to Sonnedix, a renewable energy group. It also advised Kobus Renewable Energy on the acquisition of three greenfield photovoltaic projects from Esparity Solar, with a total power of 250 MW. In another recent highlight, the firm represented Baywa in the acquisition of a portfolio of 11 PV development projects with a capacity of over 700 MW in Spain, representing one of the largest portfolios available in the Spanish market.

In 2022, the Spanish office approved its local WorldClimate strategy, streamlining different actions to be taken by the firm’s offices globally, in order to achieve its net-zero objectives, namely, reducing the firm’s scope 1 and 2 emissions by 70% and achieving 100% energy consumption from renewable sources by 2030. Internally, the firm has implemented a number of sustainable measures, such as the withdrawal of all single-use plastic cups across its Spanish offices, providing staff with reusable cups and bottles instead.