Owner of Forestalia, an Aragonese renewable energy magnate who reinvented himself after leaving the pig farming sector.

Forestalia owner Fernando Samper (Zaragoza, 1964) founded a company promoting renewable energy thirteen years ago. In record time, it has become one of the leaders in the development of wind and photovoltaic parks in this country. Its rise was meteoric when it won government auctions in 2016 and 2017, sweeping away companies that had previously dominated the electricity sector and viewed it as an upstart.

Others call him a visionary ahead of his time because I realized before anyone else that to operate a business that is now in full swing, bonuses are not needed, and which has attracted all types of investors. Like the founder and largest shareholder of Inditex, Amancio Ortega, who, through his “family office” Pontegadea, acquired half of the eight wind farms in Zaragoza promoted by Forestalia in 2021 for 245 million.

As CEO of Grupo Jorge, a meat company founded by his father, has already made a choice in favor of diversification and began to engage in green energy in 1997.. With the support of his brothers, he built the family business into a giant in the pork sector until it became a leading exporter and producer of pork in Spain. Their supplies reach more than one hundred countries on five continents.

His departure from the company dates back to 2011, and with part of the energy assets of the family group, as well as assets acquired from the German RWE in the field of biomass, he launched Forestalia. He risked his assets by hiring workers and preparing projects without ensuring their development., but the facts showed that he knew how to get ahead of his competitors. According to the latest official figures for 2022, its turnover is 97.7 million and its workforce reaches 285 people. “It’s very easy to talk and judge in hindsight, but no one can deny that he knew how to read the renewable energy market before anyone else,” says one competition executive.

Having always avoided media attention, giving only one interview to a publication specialized in energy, Fernando Samper has not been able to escape public attention as his portfolio of projects, both wind and photovoltaic, concentrated in Aragon, has grown. And along with this comes the opposition of a large part of the territory, mobilized on various platforms against the macro-actions promoted by Forestalia and other companies.

The parks, which are currently in various stages of development, have a total capacity of more than 10,000 megawatts. and its plan is to export its products along six electric routes to La Rioja, Castile and Leon, the Basque Country, Catalonia and the Valencian Community. Although the project received ministerial approval, it has become a source of concern for environmentalists and regional governments. And, in many ways, the reason for the Commission of Inquiry on Renewable Energy, created in the Cortes of Aragon after direct accusations from the PP in the processing of permits. during the election campaign for regional and municipal elections in May last year.

Like other big businessmen, part of the profit is invested in a reliable value – a brick.. Of his real estate transactions in Zaragoza that went beyond the scope, the latest one stands out – the purchase of a historic building intended for offices in Calle Joaquin Costa, 4, in addition to two other famous properties in the center of the capital: the one in Plaza de España, 4, the first floor of which is occupied by the telecommunications operator Orange, and part of the Puerta Cinegia offices, where until a few months ago there was another tenant with its operational headquarters. The company is located in Madrid.

The family unit’s commitment to business diversification is also known.. Three years ago, the Sella hotel complex in Villanueva de Gallego reopened after a complete renovation to give it new life after a decade of being closed to the public. And last year it acquired Viveros Montecarlo, which was in bankruptcy at the time, with the intention of reviving the company.