Iberdrola USA (Avangrid) accompanies King Felipe VI at the Spain-U.S. Chamber of Commerce in New York.
The Spain-U.S. Chamber of Commerce in New York, which promotes economic relations between the two countries and has become one of the most important transatlantic business organizations, received His Majesty King Felipe VI this morning. The meeting was attended by Pedro Azagra, CEO of Iberdrola USA (Avangrid), Iberdrola's subsidiary in the United States.
Pedro Azagra showed the King "the importance of leadership in Spanish companies in the United States". In this sense, the representatives of IBERDROLA U.S.A. (Avangrid) as the main Spanish investment company in the United States.
The Chamber, founded in New York in 1959, is a private, non-profit American institution that promotes bilateral trade and investment. It represents the interests of companies that have established or are interested in establishing trade and business relations between Spain and the United States and promotes and strengthens relations between companies, from entrepreneurs and SMEs to large corporations.
Iberdrola's history in the United States is a story of growth. In less than two decades, the company chaired by Ignacio Sánchez Galán has become, through its subsidiary, one of the largest groups in the North American electricity sector, listed since 2015 on the New York Stock Exchange. Avangrid has contributed to Iberdrola becoming the most valuable company on the Spanish stock exchange with a capitalization of around 74,000 million euros and the leading European energy company.
The company is present in 25 states and manages more than 9,200 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity, of which more than 8,300 MW of renewables (mainly wind and solar photovoltaic), and more than 170,000 kilometers of power lines through eight distributors in New York, Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts. In addition, the Spanish company has a portfolio of high-quality renewable projects in the United States of more than 22,000 MW, representing a stable platform for continued growth over the next few years as the country meets its decarbonization goals.
Iberdrola plans to invest more than $30 billion between 2020 and 2025 in power grids and renewables, with the goal of doubling its clean energy capacity by 2025.
Iberdrola has also been a pioneer in offshore wind in the United States, where it manages and develops a portfolio of more than 5,000 MW. It has the support of the Biden Administration, which is accelerating the implementation of this technology after committing to reach 30 GW by 2030.
In December 2021, the Spanish company began construction of the first large offshore wind farm in the United States (Vineyard Wind 1), which will be operational in 2023/24. The 800 megawatt (MW) project, located some 24 km south of the coast of Martha's Vineyard, will generate enough wind power to meet the demand of more than 400,000 homes. Its commissioning will also prevent the emission of more than 1.6 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, the equivalent of removing 325,000 vehicles from the road.
It also owns the Kitty Hawk development area (2,500 MW) in North Carolina and has initiated the BOEM permitting process for the Kitty Hawk North project (800 MW), the first project to be developed in this area, and manages other wind farms in an earlier stage of development
Likewise, in January 2022, it closed the takeover of the offshore wind portfolio it shared with CIP (Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners) in the United States, with more than 2,000 megawatts (MW) of capacity, making it one of the largest developers of this technology worldwide. This portfolio includes Commonwealth Wind, a project selected late last year to supply power to Massachusetts utilities. At 1,232 megawatts (MW), it is the largest offshore wind facility on the east coast of the country, will create 11,000 full-time equivalent jobs over its lifetime and will generate enough energy to power 750,000 homes per year.
The Spanish company also obtained exclusive ownership of Park City Wind, an offshore project with a secured PPA and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) permits in the pipeline that, with its 804 MW, will meet 14% of Connecticut's electricity demand and avoid the emission of more than 25 million tons of CO2. Through the partnership agreement, Iberdrola retains 50% of the Vineyard Wind 1 wind farm and the right to take control of it during the operating phase.
In addition, the Iberdrola group operates eight utilities in New York, Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts, serving a population of seven million people, with 3.3 million direct customers.
