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2021-04-26 00:00:00.0

Iberdrola prequalifies for France's next offshore wind capacity auction

Ignacio Galán, presidente de Iberdrola, en el parque eólico marino West of Duddon Sands, en aguas del Reino Unido

The Normandy project – in the English Channel – will have a capacity ranging between 900 MW and 1,050 MW.

The company has a pipeline of 19,000 MW in established markets such as France, Germany, the UK and the US and emerging markets such as Japan, Sweden, Poland and Ireland

Iberdrola has been pre-qualified for the next offshore wind capacity tender in France, the Normandy offshore wind farm in the English Channel, with a capacity between 900 and 1,050 MW. The company will now enter the competitive dialogue phase, during which the details of the project will be discussed with the French government before preparing and submitting the bid. The final award decision is expected to be made public in February 2022.

On 15 January, the French government opened the pre-qualification process for this project, which is located some 32 km off the coast of Barfleur, with a 500 km² zone which will be further reduced throughout the Competitive Dialogue and de-risking campaigns. Fixed foundation technology will be used, given the water depths.

"The continued development of offshore wind energy is vital to decarbonize the economy. Normandy represents a major milestone for France's energy transition, as it is the first project within the Multiannual Energy Plan which states the French Government’s commitment to award 1GW of offshore wind per year. As a world leader in offshore wind, with major projects already operating in the North Sea and the Baltic, and with the construction of Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm underway, we are confident that we can bring our expertise and delivery capabilities to the development of this new project," said Javier García Pérez, Iberdrola's Offshore Wind Business Director.

Among the leading developers with a 19,000 MW pipeline

Iberdrola's decision to participate in a new offshore wind project in France is in line with its strategy to lead the industry while strengthening its presence in a strategic market for the company.

Following a number of offshore wind transactions in recent months, the company has a project pipeline of some 19,000 MW, in established markets such as the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Germany. Iberdrola has also entered emerging markets such as Japan, Sweden, Poland and Ireland.

This strategy has already enabled the company to operate offshore wind farms in the German Baltic Sea (Wikinger), the North Sea (East Anglia ONE) and the Irish Sea (West of Duddon Sands). The company is also making progress on the Vineyard Wind ONE offshore wind farm project (800 MW off the coast of Massachusetts), Saint Brieuc, in Brittany, France, which will begin construction on 3 May, Baltic Eagle in German waters and East Anglia Hub in the North Sea.

France, a strategic market

In France, Iberdrola operates as a wind power developer (onshore and offshore) and as a clean energy retailer. It currently has a customer base of 400,000 and aims to reach one million supply points by 2023.

In addition to Saint Brieuc offshore wind, renewable projects include Aalto Power, a company acquired in June 2020, which operates 118 MW of onshore wind and has a pipeline of 700 MW of wind and photovoltaic projects under development.

Iberdrola plans to invest €4 billion in the French market by 2025, mainly in renewable energy projects, thus helping to maintain industrial activity and hundreds of thousands of jobs. The group awards orders worth almost €1 billion a year to French companies such as Eiffage, Nexans, Vinci and Schneider, and it also procures with Spanish companies such as Navantia and Windar.

Green investments for economic and employment recovery

Iberdrola has been leading the energy transition for two decades, acting as a key driving force in the transformation of industry and the green recovery of the economy and employment. To this end, the company has launched a major investment plan of €150 billion over the next decade – €75 billion by 2025 –, aimed at tripling renewable capacity and doubling the value of its network assets while take advantage of the opportunities of the energy revolution facing the world's leading economies.

In Spain, investments to 2025 amount to €14.3 billion, mainly for the deployment of an ambitious renewables and smart grids plan. In Spain, the company is the leader in the renewable sector with an installed capacity of more than 17,400 MW which will increase to 25,000 MW by 2025.

Following investments of €120,000 million over the past twenty years, Iberdrola has become a global leader in renewable energy with nearly 35,000 MW installed worldwide, making its generation fleet one of the cleanest in the energy industry.

With emissions of 98 grCO₂/kWh, two-thirds lower than the European average, the strategy of investing in clean energy and networks will make Iberdrola a "carbon neutral" company in Europe by 2030.

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About Iberdrola

Iberdrola is one of the world's biggest energy companies, a leader in renewables, which is spearheading the energy transition to a low carbon economy. The group supplies energy to almost 100 million people in dozens of countries. It carries out renewables, networks and commercial activities in Europe (Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and Greece), the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Australia, and, as growth platforms, it is present in markets such as Japan, Ireland, Sweden and Poland, among others.

With a workforce of more than 37,000 and assets in excess of €122.5 billion, in 2020, it achieved a turnover of €33 billion and a net profit of over €3.6 billion. The company contributes to sustain 400,000 jobs along its supply chain, with annual procurement of €14 billion. A benchmark in the fight against climate change, it has allocated more than €120 billion over the last two decades to building a sustainable energy model, based on sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.