{"id":3688,"date":"2011-01-23T08:18:37","date_gmt":"2011-01-23T07:18:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/torsaglobal.com\/uncategorized\/driven-by-renewables-interview-with-mariano-barroso\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T12:52:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T11:52:07","slug":"driven-by-renewables-interview-with-mariano-barroso","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/torsaglobal.com\/en\/renewables\/driven-by-renewables-interview-with-mariano-barroso\/","title":{"rendered":"Driven by Renewables \u2013 Interview with Mariano Barroso"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mariano Barroso<\/strong> worked for 24 years in the beverage industry, but in 1995 he changed course and bet on clean energy. Today, he is president of Aprean<\/strong>, the Andalusian renewable energy industry association.<\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.diariosur.es\/20110123\/economia\/dinero-empleo\/movido-renovables-201101231126.html<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Although born in a small village in the Valle de los Pedroches<\/strong>, Barroso considers himself more M\u00e1laga-born than Cordoban<\/strong>\u2014\u201cthough I mostly feel Andalusian,\u201d he emphasizes. Indeed, he has spent more than half his life in M\u00e1laga, where he stayed to work immediately after completing his degree in Industrial Engineering at the former Cooperativa Lechera Malague\u00f1a (Colema)<\/strong>. It was also in M\u00e1laga where he met his wife, Mar\u00eda Pura Pidal<\/strong>, whom he calls \u201cmy greatest support, along with our three children.\u201d<\/p>\n

After working for 24 years in beverage companies\u2014first at Colema, then five years at Coca-Cola<\/strong>, and later 18 years at Bacardi<\/strong>\u2014Barroso found himself, at age 48 in 1994, facing a major life decision: either leave the city to keep his job after a corporate restructuring, or stay and face unemployment.
\u201cI chose the latter,\u201d he says, \u201cbut I\u2019ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit, and with the support of my great friend Eduardo Merig\u00f3<\/strong>, who was then president of Visa Europe, I entered the world of renewable energy\u2014which at that time was almost completely unknown, and people thought I was speaking a foreign language,\u201d Barroso recalls.<\/p>\n

From this alliance with businessman Merig\u00f3 came the first wind farm projects in the Campo de Gibraltar<\/strong>, particularly in Tarifa and Los Barrios<\/strong>, in the province of C\u00e1diz.
\u201cFrom the very beginning, I saw the potential and bright future of this type of energy. Even in times of economic hardship like the one we\u2019re in now, the future lies in renewable energy,\u201d affirms the head of Toquero Renovables S.L. (Torsa)<\/strong>, the family corporation he founded in 2007 to manage their stakes in a dozen wind farms, photovoltaic plants, and biomass energy projects\u2014all based in Andalusia.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpain<\/strong>, and Andalusia in particular, is a benchmark in this field because we were pioneers in renewable energy, and that\u2019s something we must continue to build on. Fifteen years in the renewable sector is a whole legacy,\u201d says Barroso. In 2002<\/strong>, he was appointed president of Aprean<\/strong>, the Association of Renewable Energy Promoters and Producers of Andalusia<\/strong>, which currently represents 70 companies in the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re proud to get calls from Turkey, Poland, the United States, and South America<\/strong>, asking us to share our projects and experiences\u2014because they\u2019re replicating what we\u2019ve been doing here for more than a decade,\u201d reflects the public face of Aprean. He recalls that the only condition he placed on accepting the presidency of the association was that its headquarters be located in M\u00e1laga<\/strong>.
\u201cIt\u2019s such a welcoming city, a melting pot of cultures with great tolerance. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s another city like it in the world,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Confidence in the Future<\/h3>\n

Regarding the current state of the renewables sector, Barroso doesn\u2019t hide the fact that the financial crisis<\/strong> has had an impact:
\u201cIt\u2019s affecting us like everyone else. This is a credit availability crisis, and if your goal is to invest, it\u2019s hard to access liquidity,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, this clean energy pioneer<\/strong> remains firmly convinced of the sector\u2019s future and profitability<\/strong>, not just economically, but socially as well. He is confident that the EU\u2019s 2020 target<\/strong>\u2014for 20% of energy consumed to come from renewable sources<\/strong>\u2014can be achieved. Currently, that figure stands at 12%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to get out of this crisis, no matter what\u2014but without losing sight of the fact that the future depends on clean energy. I mean, what\u2019s the point of continuing to burn oil? Each barrel takes another 5,000 years to form<\/strong>. The sun, the wind, water, and biomass give us clean, infinite energy<\/strong> that doesn\u2019t pollute,\u201d he reflects.
\u201cEven in Qatar<\/strong>, they\u2019re asking about solar energy now\u2014because they know the oil will run out someday!\u201d he exclaims.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mariano Barroso worked for 24 years in the beverage industry, but in 1995 he changed course and bet on clean energy. Today, he is president of Aprean, the Andalusian renewable energy industry association. Source: https:\/\/www.diariosur.es\/20110123\/economia\/dinero-empleo\/movido-renovables-201101231126.html Although born in a small village in the Valle de los Pedroches, Barroso considers himself more M\u00e1laga-born than Cordoban\u2014\u201cthough I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1083,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-renewables"],"yoast_head":"\nDriven by Renewables \u2013 Interview with Mariano Barroso - Torsa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/torsaglobal.com\/en\/renewables\/driven-by-renewables-interview-with-mariano-barroso\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Driven by Renewables \u2013 Interview with Mariano Barroso - Torsa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mariano Barroso worked for 24 years in the beverage industry, but in 1995 he changed course and bet on clean energy. Today, he is president of Aprean, the Andalusian renewable energy industry association. 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