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Iberdrola and ASAJA have entered into a strategic alliance to promote sustainable and emission-free arable and livestock farming. To do this, they have designed a work plan with two basic vectors: On the one hand, they will promote actions aimed at improving energy efficiency and, on the other hand, they will launch initiatives to continue preserving biodiversity and caring for the rural environment.

The agreement includes initiatives related to improving competitiveness in the countryside, such as the dissemination of renewable energy technologies suitable for rural areas and their electrification through the implementation of energy efficiency solutions, self-consumption and sustainable mobility.

It will also make it possible to launch projects to improve environmental sustainability, related to capturing CO₂ — by creating green spaces that absorb and offset emissions from other sectors —, the circular economy and new, zero-emissions fertilisers.

The alliance combines the knowledge and capabilities of two leading organisations that are committed to the energy transition and the green economy as a way to transform and recover the country's primary sector. Iberdrola is gaining a benchmark partner with an extensive geographical presence and understanding of the farming and livestock industry, while ASAJA is linking itself to a leading company in renewable energies in the country and at a global level.

According to Iberdrola Chairman Ignacio Galán, "ASAJA is an excellent ally for promoting projects in future technologies in rural areas and to increase the opportunities for economic and environmental efficiency offered by the energy transition for arable and livestock farmers in this country. Today, we are setting out together on a road that will take us to solid commitments and concrete initiatives, to advance toward an emissions-free economy, also in the farming sector, while we promote competitiveness and economic development in the countryside".

Meanwhile, Pedro Barato, the president of ASAJA, said: “We have great hopes for this partnership with Iberdrola, which we see as playing a strategic role for achieving the goals we have set ourselves. The circular economy, CO₂ capture, energy efficiency and producer cost reductions are short- to medium-term goals that are set to be become a reality in the agricultural sector”.

Creating green spaces, reforestation and improving pastureland

Iberdrola looks upon the preservation of the biological diversity of ecosystems as an essential part of its strategy, ensuring a supply of competitive, clean, and sustainable energy which is also entirely compatible with the environmental balance and is committed to achieving the full preservation of biodiversity by 2030.

In this regard, the agreement signed with ASAJA entails commissioning initiatives to capture the CO₂ produced in other sectors, like industry and transport, by creating green spaces to absorb and offset it. On the one hand, it will explore the possibility of reforesting land that is not in use, giving it additional value. On the other hand, pastures around photovoltaic plants and wind farms and their surroundings will be improved, which will retain more water and increase yields from pastures.

In the last three years, Iberdrola has carried out more than 1,450 actions to protect biodiversity, combining the development of renewable projects with the conservation of the diversity of flora and fauna by taking care of natural heritage. It has also set itself a reforestation target of 20 million trees by the end of the decade, capable of capturing approximately six million tons of CO₂ in 30 years. The company will plant 2.5 million trees next year and 8 million by 2025.

Smart solutions for self-consumption based on renewables

The type of buildings in rural areas (low-rise buildings, single-family homes and large-scale installations) and the maturity of the environmental awareness of the rural population make self-consumption, aerothermal energy for air conditioning and energy efficiency ideal solutions for improving farm productivity.

In this context, many years ago now Iberdrola launched Smart Solar, a comprehensive solution for the generation and self-consumption of photovoltaic energy that gives savings on electricity bills and incorporates all the advantages of digitalisation, making it ideal for the farming community. This type of generation can be combined with on-site PPAs, long-term energy sales contracts for companies and farm activities.

Electric mobility and green recovery

The average commuting distance in rural areas, which usually does not exceed a range of 20-30 km, makes electric mobility an ideal solution for the countryside. Iberdrola is committed to the electrification of transport as a key lever for reducing emissions and pollution.

The company is implementing a sustainable mobility plan through which it will install 150,000 charging points in homes, businesses, urban roads, cities and major motorways. Its commitment to the deployment of high-efficiency stations will see the installation of ultra-fast (350 kW), super-fast (150 kW) and fast (50 kW) stations.

Aware that promoting electromobility requires coordinated action between agents from across all sectors, Iberdrola has finalised more than 50 infrastructure deployment agreements with administrations, institutions, service stations, dealers and electric vehicle manufacturers.