Iberdrola Plans $13 Billion In Renewable Investments

Spain’s Iberdrola plans to invest $13 billion in renewable energy within the next four years, according to the corporate group’s chairman Ignacio Galán.

ScottishPower Renewables is part of Iberdrola’s portfolio. The UK-based company runs offshore windfarms and plans to expand its operations across Europe to contribute to national grids.

Iberdola has also invested in the East Anglia One project in the North Sea, which is slated to become one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world once it goes online in 2020. The Saint-Brieuc project, located in northern France, is also receiving funds from Iberdola.

The company plans to capitalize on the rise of electric cars, low-cost power generation, and greater connectivity to drive future profits. “These three trends strengthen Iberdrola’s focus on its three core businesses: more renewables, more and smarter networks and more smart-solutions for the consumer,” the company said.

Iberdrola has been leading efforts in its home country to end fossil fuel use. At the end of last year, Spain prepared a draft decree giving the government the power to prevent closures of coal-fired power plants across the nation. José Bogas, head of the utility Endesa, told reporters that Spain’s two largest coal-fired plants were not economically viable “under current market and regulatory conditions.” The future of the facilities rested on the government’s decisions to support the plants. Iberdrola, Spain’s largest utility, said it wants to proceed with shutting down its last two coal-fired plants there.

In 2015, Iberdrola bought UIL Holdings Corp. in Connecticut., for about $3 billion in cash and shares to expand its presence in the United States by owning a utility with 3.1 million consumers in Massachusetts and Connecticut.  At the time, it already owned more than 60 enterprises in 24 states and served close to 3 million customers in the country, most of them in Maine, New Hampshire, and New York State.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

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