Over the past 15 years Iberdrola, the largest electricity company in Europe and one of the two largest worldwide, has invested close to £30 billion in the UK’s electricity grid and renewable generation capacity. Its ScottishPower business was the first UK integrated utility to generate 100 percent green electricity.
At the UK Global Investment Summit in London, hosted by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Iberdrola provided further details of its investment plans in the country, focused on electricity networks and renewables.
“Iberdrola is proud to play our part in supporting the UK’s leadership position on decarbonisation” said Iberdrola Executive Chairman Ignacio Galán. “Over the past 15 years, we have invested close to £30 billion in bringing the benefits of greener and more secure energy to the UK. Backed by clear regulatory and policy frameworks, we are as committed as ever to speeding up our investments in the UK’s electricity grid and renewables generation.”
With more than £2 billion invested in the UK as part of its previously announced £6.7 billion programme for the years 2023-25, the company plans to build on this with investments of over £7 billion more in the years 2026-28. This amounts to a £12 billion investment programme for 2024-28.
Around two-thirds of the 2024-28 investments will be dedicated to transmission and distribution electricity networks, driven by regulatory arrangements in place (RIIO T2 and RIIO ED2), as well as projects like the innovative £2.7 billion Eastern Green Link 1 (EGL1) subsea transmission cable, which received regulatory approval this month [November 2023]. Construction of EGL1 will begin in early 2024 and, when completed, the link will transport enough clean green renewable energy to power up to 2 million homes and will increase the resilience of the UK’s transmission grid.
In addition, the company will continue investing in its East Anglia 3 offshore wind farm, as well as in onshore wind and solar projects, energy retail and green hydrogen. These investments could be further increased with additional offshore wind opportunities, like East Anglia 1 North and East Anglia 2, which the company has ready for upcoming auctions.
Alongside meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr Galán met with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Claire Coutinho, and with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Kemi Badenoch. He will also attend a royal reception with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace.
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