Spain loses Singapore appeal over NextEra renewable energy arbitration award

On 19 October, Singapore's Court of Appeal upheld the registration of an arbitration award in favor of NextEra Energy Global Holdings and NextEra Energy Spain Holdings, rejecting Spain's appeal to annul it. The judges emphasized that Spain's accession to the CIADI convention obliges it to recognize and enforce awards from other contracting states, and that invoking sovereign immunity would undermine the treaty's reciprocal nature.

The court also denied Spain's request to reduce the legal costs, citing procedural defects and the complexity of the case. This loss follows earlier rejections of Spain's attempts to overturn the award in both the original arbitration and the CIADI annulment committee. The decision contributes to a growing tally of unpaid arbitration awards against Spain, which now faces dozens of pending awards totaling billions of euros and significant legal expenses.