Written by Pietro Lombardi
MADRID, Nov 27 (Reuters) – Spanish renewable energy giant Iberdrola announced on Monday that it will invest nearly 14 billion euros ($15 billion) in the United Kingdom until 2028 in renewable energy networks and projects.
The plan is in line with the company’s broader investment strategy, which has increasingly focused on grids, whose returns tend to be predictable, and a more selective approach to renewable energy projects, favoring those that produce higher returns.
This investment is in addition to the €8,000 million that Iberdrola has already promised to invest in the UK between 2023 and 2025.
Some energy giants in Europe have become more cautious about renewables as the sector faces rising interest rates and rising debt costs.
More investment in grids is needed to strengthen the system, given the increasingly important role played by intermittent electricity production from renewable energy sources.
The Italian energy group Enel has adopted a similar text, with a new investment plan that focuses on electricity networks and is more cautious in renewable energy projects.
Transmission and distribution networks will receive nearly two-thirds of the planned investment, including more than 3 billion euros for submarine cables capable of transmitting enough renewable energy to power two million homes, Iberdrola said.
Construction of the Eastern Green Link 1 (EGL1) cable is scheduled to begin early next year.
The Spanish company has also pledged to invest in solar and wind projects, including an offshore wind project off the British east coast known as East Anglia 3, as well as green hydrogen.
Global investment – which adds to many others announced by the British government – could increase with new opportunities in offshore wind, according to Iberdrola.
“With stable and predictable regulatory frameworks in place in the UK, we are more committed than ever to continuing to drive our investments in grids and renewable energy to further advance the energy transition and meet the country’s climate goals,” the president said in a statement. From the company Ignacio Sanchez Galán.
($1 USD = 0.9168 EUR)
(Reporting by Pietro Lombardi, edited in Spanish by Benjamin Mejias Valencia)
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