Iberdrola to invest up to 15 billion with Abu Dhabi’s Masdar renewables group
Iberdrola announced Tuesday that it has signed a strategic agreement with Abu Dhabi-based renewables group Masdar to jointly invest up to 15 billion euros in offshore wind and green hydrogen projects in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The first milestone of this alliance will be to co-invest in the 1,400 megawatt (MW) East Anglia 3 offshore wind project in the UK, which is in the final stages of negotiation and could be signed by the end of the first quarter of 2024, Iberdrola said in a statement on Tuesday.
Masdar’s stake in this wind farm is 49%, equivalent to around 2.2 billion euros of the 4.2 billion euros investment planned by Iberdrola at the time.
According to the note, the farm is already under construction and is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2026 and will supply power to more than 1.3 million UK homes, while creating 2,300 jobs.
In addition to the East Anglia 3 project, the two companies will work to jointly invest in future offshore wind and green hydrogen projects in Europe and other markets, with overall investment expected to reach €15 billion.
This project, announced at the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference currently being held in the United Arab Emirates, demonstrates “the firm commitment of both companies to accelerate the global energy transition”.
Iberdrola and the commitment to renewable energies
Iberdrola’s Chairman, Ignacio Galán, explained that since 118 governments have already committed at COP28 to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030, achieving this goal will require immediate action by governments and the private sector.
For his part, Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Chairman of Masdar and President of COP28, welcomed the partnership, which will help achieve the goal of tripling global renewable energy capacity by 2030.
Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi explained that the group has been working for a decade in the UK where they have pioneered such “flagship” projects as the world’s first floating offshore wind farm.
At COP28, “as the world seeks to triple renewable energy capacity to ensure a greener future, projects like the 1,400 MW East Anglia 3 offshore wind farm show how we can create jobs, power homes and reduce emissions,” he added.
