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A federal judge on Tuesday upheld a €59.6 million ($69.6 million) arbitral award against Spain over revoked incentives for renewable energy projects, dismissing Madrid’s objections and reinforcing the authority of international arbitration rulings.

U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols ruled that the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) tribunal had already determined its jurisdiction and that the award deserved “full faith and credit.” Spain’s reliance on a European Court of Justice ruling—invalidating arbitration clauses in the Energy Charter Treaty for disputes within the EU—was not enough to derail enforcement.

A Win for Arbitration Stability

Judge Nichols emphasized that international comity favored enforcement, noting that ICSID awards are the result of “several years of arbitration proceedings in an international forum with its own legal personality.” Allowing Spain to re-litigate arguments already rejected internationally, he wrote, would undermine “the central precept of comity” and the predictability it fosters.

The court also rejected Spain’s argument under the foreign sovereign compulsion doctrine, which generally shields foreign entities from violating their own domestic laws. Nichols cited other rulings finding that such comity principles “do not favor” blocking enforcement of ICSID awards.

Long-Running Renewable Energy Dispute

The award’s origins trace back to 2007, when Spain launched generous incentives to attract investment in wind and concentrated solar power. RREEF Infrastructure (G.P.) Ltd. and RREEF Pan-European Infrastructure Two Lux SARL poured more than €300 million into renewable projects.

However, a 2012 policy shift saw Spain scale back and eventually revoke the incentives, citing an urgent need to curb an unsustainable tariff deficit. The ICSID tribunal—led by Alain Pellet, Robert Volterra, and Pedro Nikken—found Spain had breached its treaty obligations by applying changes retroactively and failing to ensure a reasonable return on RREEF’s investments.

The case’s current petitioner, Blasket Renewable Investments LLC, took over the award earlier this year.

Parallel Battles and Broader Implications

The ruling comes a year after the D.C. Circuit confirmed U.S. district courts’ jurisdiction to enforce roughly $395 million in similar arbitral awards against Spain in consolidated cases involving the same renewable energy incentive rollback.

Blasket is represented by Matthew S. Rozen of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Spain is represented by Jonathan M. Landy, Benjamin W. Graham, Noah C. McCullough, and Ayoub Ouederni of Williams & Connolly LLP.

With this latest decision, U.S. courts are sending a clear message: international arbitration awards, especially under ICSID, will not be easily undermined by regional treaty disputes.