Madrid, November 27 (European Press) –
The British government reported that Iberdrola, through its subsidiary Scottish Power, will boost its investment commitment in the UK in the coming years to a figure of £12,000 million (about €13,823 million) in the period 2024-2028.
Specifically, the energy company headed by Ignacio Galán has confirmed an investment of 7,000 million pounds sterling (about 8,065 million euros) within this investment package in a “major boost to the ‘net zero’ and renewable energy sector” in the country.
This investment figure for Iberdrola in the country was revealed by British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, during the Global Investment Summit held on Monday at Hampton Court Palace, which was attended by the head of the energy company, Ignacio Sanchez Galan. .
Iberdrola indicated in a statement that the energy company has allocated more than 2,000 million pounds sterling (more than 2,300 million euros) this year, especially for electrical networks and renewable energy projects.
Around two-thirds of the amount Iberdrola will invest in the UK between next year and 2028 will be allocated to transmission and distribution networks, with one project standing out: the innovative Eastern Green Link 1 (EGL1) submarine cable, which will represent a total investment of £2.7 billion (over €3.1 billion). ).
Construction of the EGL1 will begin in early 2024, and when completed, this connection will be able to transmit enough renewable energy to serve two million homes, while increasing the resilience of the UK’s transmission network.
In addition, the group said it would continue to invest in the “mega-project” development of the East Anglia Three offshore wind farm, as well as onshore wind and solar projects, energy trading as well as green hydrogen development.
He also added that the announced investments could be further increased through additional offshore wind opportunities. For example, the East Anglia One North and East Anglia Two projects are eligible to participate in future auctions.
The Investment Summit seeks to encourage foreign investment in the UK. The world's top business leaders were summoned, including Galland, who, in addition to his meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, met with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, and the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Carbon Emissions. Claire Coutinho, with the Minister of Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch.
Galland, who will also attend a royal reception in the presence of King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, stressed that Iberdrola is “proud to contribute to the UK’s leadership on energy security and decarbonisation”.
In this sense, he emphasized that in the past 15 years the energy company has invested nearly 30 billion pounds (about 35 billion euros) in the country “to bring the benefits of cleaner, safer and more efficient energy to all the British people.”
“Stable and predictable” regulatory frameworks in the country.
“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 renewables to further advance the energy transition and meet the country’s climate goals,” he said.
In its strategic plan 2023-2025, which anticipates a record investment plan of €47,000 million in that period, the UK was already the second major destination for Iberdrola investments, with 16% of the total -6,700 million pounds, the highest investment the company has made in the country – behind Only the United States – at 47% – and ahead of Spain (13%).
This investment in the UK has been split between its commitment to grid work to boost the country's electrification and promote renewable energies.
Through Scottish Power, Iberdrola has more than 40 onshore wind farms and two offshore wind farms operating in the UK with a total installed capacity of more than 2,900MW.
In addition, it is developing the East Anglia 3 offshore wind farm, the second largest in the world with investments of approximately £4 billion (about €4.6 billion).
Including Iberdrola, the British government announced that the world's major investors have committed £29,500 million (about €33,977 million) in new projects and capital in the UK, three times the amount raised at the last Global Investment Summit in 2021. .
More than 11,500 million invested in IFM.
Among them, the intention of the Australian fund IFM, a shareholder in the Spanish energy company Naturgy, stands out to invest 10,000 million pounds sterling (about 11,518 million euros) in the next four years in large-scale infrastructure and energy transition projects in the region. The country, as indicated by the British government.
IFM will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Business and Trade at the summit to identify commercially viable opportunities, with potential projects including Nala Renewables, a UK-based company within the fund, actively seeking investment opportunities. It seeks to reach the renewable capacity target of 4 gigawatts by 2025.
In addition, Microsoft has pledged to invest £2.5 billion (about €2.88 billion) to build critical AI infrastructure.
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