Iberdrola signs with Norges Bank Investment Management to co-invest in 1,265 MW of new renewable capacity in Spain
Iberdrola has signed a strategic alliance with the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, managed by Norges Bank Investment Management, to co-invest in 1,265 MW of new renewable capacity in Spain - 20% wind and 80% photovoltaic. The two companies are joining forces to accelerate decarbonisation in Spain, an agreement that could be extended to other countries in the future. Iberdrola will have a 51% majority stake in the assets. According to the terms of the deal, the valuation of 100% of this portfolio of assets amounts to around 1,225 million euros. Iberdrola will control and manage the assets, providing operation and maintenance and other corporate services. Of the 1,265 MW, 137 MW are operational - in Castilla-La Mancha and Aragón - while the rest are under development, distributed among Andalusia (358 MW), Extremadura (343 MW), Aragón (175 MW), Castilla y León (102 MW), Madrid (55 MW), Murcia (50 MW) and Castilla La Marcha (45 MW). This renewable portfolio will have the capacity to power more than 700,000 homes each year.
Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages Norway's sovereign wealth fund, has assets under management of around EUR 1.4 trillion and stakes in more than 9,000 companies. It holds on average 1.4% of all listed companies in the world and 2.5% of all listed companies in Europe.
Norges Bank Investment Management is also a major shareholder in Iberdrola, with a stake of more than 3% for more than seven years. As a result of this relationship, Norges Bank Investment Management has decided to make its first direct investment in renewable assets in Spain with Iberdrola, Europe's largest electricity company by capitalisation.
Iberdrola and Norges Bank Investment Management thus create a strong alliance between two preferred partners whose commitment could be extended to additional renewable opportunities in other geographies.
Over the past three years, the energy group has entered into a number of long-term partnerships to drive the decarbonisation of the economy:
Recently, Iberdrola and BP reached an agreement to accelerate the deployment of refuelling infrastructure and the production of green hydrogen in Spain and Portugal.
In addition, a few months ago Iberdrola signed an alliance with Energy Infrastructure Partners to co-invest in the Wikinger offshore wind farm and boost its offshore wind portfolio.
In 2021, it also incorporated Mapfre as a partner in an agreement that includes, among other aspects, co-investment in a 295 MW wind asset portfolio.
Prior to the pandemic, Iberdrola joined GIG in its East Anglia One offshore wind farm with 40% of the facility. This transaction therefore meant the entry of a new partner in this renewable facility, in which Iberdrola has held a majority stake of 60%.
Iberdrola reaffirms its commitment to the energy transition in Spain as a leader in renewable energy, with some 19,500 MW at the end of the third quarter of 2022, to which must be added its grid and storage assets. The company also plans to invest an additional 6,000 million euros in Spain by 2025, further increasing the 85,000 jobs it currently supports in its supply chain. Iberdrola's assets totalled 170 billion euros worldwide in September.
