Iberdrola consolidates its position as the largest solar power developer in the UK market

Iberdrola, through its UK subsidiary ScottishPower, has agreed to purchase seventeen solar PV projects in the UK, with a combined capacity of more than 800 MW. The contracts have been concluded separately with the companies Elgin Energy, owner of 12 projects, and Lightsource BP, which controlled the rest. Both companies are experienced developers with a long track record in developing renewable energy projects. 

The plants, spread across central England, south Wales and northern Scotland, are at an advanced stage of development and will come on stream by 2025 with an investment of around £500 million (around 600 million of euros). They are expected to supply enough energy to cover the annual needs of around 220,000 homes. 

Iberdrola and its subsidiary ScottishPower have thus become the largest investor in solar energy in the United Kingdom, with a market share that has risen from 2% to 9%. The Spanish company's investment commitment in the country, where ScottishPower is the only 100% green integrated utility, will contribute to achieving the carbon neutrality targets set by the Scottish and British governments for 2045 and 2050, respectively. 

Moreover, the portfolio acquired in these two new transactions far exceeds the current capacity and projects under development of most listed solar power companies in Spain, where the market is highly fragmented.

By September 2021, Iberdrola has almost 3 GW of installed photovoltaic capacity worldwide, an increase of 89% compared to 2019. Of this capacity, 2,028 MW are in Spain, 642 MW in Mexico, 191 MW in the US, 4 MW in the UK and 31 MW in other countries. Iberdrola also has 31 GW of solar projects under development in Spain, the US, Mexico, the UK, Portugal and Italy. The company's investment plan for the period 2020-2025 plans to double the current capacity to 6 GW by the end of 2022, and to close 2025 with 14 GW of installed solar capacity. 

Iberdrola continues to grow. With these two contracts, the company chaired by Ignacio Galán has managed to close 30 corporate operations since the start of 2020, 17 of which have been acquisitions, which have enabled the company to enter new markets such as Sweden, Ireland, Poland, Japan and Australia.

Iberdrola has been leading the energy transition for two decades, acting as a key driving force in the transformation of the industrial fabric and the green recovery of the economy and employment. To this end, the company has launched a historic investment plan of 150,000 million euros over the next decade -75,000 million euros by 2025-, with which to triple renewable capacity and double network assets and take advantage of the opportunities of the energy revolution facing the world's leading economies.

With 80% emission-free production at the end of nine months 2021, the Iberdrola group has committed to be carbon neutral by 2030 in Europe, where its emissions are already only around 50g/kWh at the end of nine months 2021, and to reduce its global CO2 emissions intensity to 50g/kWh - it would be 70g/kWh by the end of 2025 - to be carbon neutral globally by 2050.