News
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15/09/2020Iberdrola launches its call for applications for over a million euros in Social Grants to support groups that are vulnerable due to the Covid-19 pandemic Iberdrola has put out a call for applications to its 2021 Social Programme, to be received before 21 September. This year it is focusing on helping to lessen the negative effects of Covid-19 on the most vulnerable, prioritising support for children and women, and the families most affected by the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic. This call, with a budget of more than one million euros, is addressed to private charitable institutions that are declared to be in the public interest, have goals that are of social interest and carry out their activities in Spain. Given the unprecedented and exceptional circumstances, and following the recommendations made by Covid-19 experts, the call for applications made by Fundación Iberdrola España covers five lines of work to promote joint projects with social entities: * Child poverty: comprehensive support for homes with low incomes or unemployment to cover the basic aspects of everyday life and, in particular, ensure essential healthy nutrition; * Inclusive education: to help to narrow the education gap and promote online tutoring or safe educational models and to promote alternatives for leisure and safe free time, which include awareness-raising promoting proper hygiene and social distancing measures for children and adults. * Social inclusion: special support for children and young people with disabilities, through innovation in occupational centres and the promotion of abilities, to ensure their personal autonomy and alleviate the burden on their families. * Health and well-being: to help the most vulnerable families and offer support to seriously ill vulnerable people and young people undergoing treatment for addiction. * Support for women: to contribute to ending all forms of discrimination against women (of all ages) based on opportunities for access to education and the labour market. Care for women who are suffering harassment and serious gender violence in the current healthcare, economic and social crisis. Fundación Iberdrola España will select some 30 projects, which must be in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the 2030 Agenda, following the collaborative example proposed by the United Nations in Goal 17 to encourage multi-player alliances. Applicants must submit their proposals by 22 September using the form available from the foundation website (www.fundacioniberdrolaespana.org), where they can also consult the terms and conditions of the call for applications. It is planned that selection will take place in November and the projects will be implemented during the 12 months of 2021. Committed to society Through its Foundation’s Social Programme in Spain, Iberdrola has already allocated over 10 million euros to social initiatives in Spain, benefiting a total of 375,000 people. Since this programme was launched in 2010, the company has fostered over 400 joint projects with nearly a hundred social entities that have contributed to combating child poverty, tutoring and the social inclusion of children, young people and women in vulnerable situations. This Social Programme has led to the creation of 1,300 jobs and the participation of 2,250 volunteers. The Iberdrola foundation also focuses its activities on training and research in the field of energy, through scholarship programmes; on biodiversity, with projects protecting the environment; and on cultural development, by caring for and maintaining cultural and artistic treasures. READ MORE
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10/09/2020Galán considers the Valencian Community a key region for Iberdrola, in which it wants to continue growing and promoting its industrial fabric The president of the Valencian Community, Ximo Puig, visited Iberdrola’s offices there and was received by Ignacio Galán, at a meeting in which the company's chairman communicated to him the “key” nature of the region for the group and its desire to “continue growing, continue stimulating the industrial fabric in the region, create jobs and add value to Valencians”. “This region has everything necessary to continue leading the transformation of our energy system, with more renewable energy and more and better electricity distribution networks”, explained the Iberdrola chairman. In the Valencia region, Iberdrola manages an electric power generation park with nearly 5,000 megawatts (MW) installed power, which includes the Cortes-La Muela hydroelectric complex, one of the largest and most efficient energy storage facilities in Europe. In addition, it operates more than 70,000 kilometres of distribution lines, with which it serves 3.5 million customers. Galán referred to the significant efforts made by the company in moving toward the digital transformation of the electricity distribution network, which has allowed it to deal effectively and quickly with the consequences of the recent extreme weather situations experienced in the region. He also reminded those present that Castellón was, in fact, the starting point for the development of smart grids as it was the first Spanish city to have a fully digitised distribution network. The socio-economic impact of Iberdrola's activity in the Valencia region is almost 850 million euros a year in terms of investments, purchases and tax contributions. The company employs more than 1,600 people in the region and helps generate jobs for several hundred more, through the 500 local suppliers with which it collaborates that supply a wide range of innovative products and services related to the energy transition. READ MORE
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09/09/2020Iberdrola begins construction of 150 photovoltaic MW in Castilla-La Mancha Iberdrola is stepping up its renewables strategy in Castile-La Mancha with the commencement of construction of three photovoltaic projects in the region, totalling 150 MW: Barcience, which is in the municipality of Bargas in Toledo; and El Romeral and Olmedilla, in the province of Cuenca. The projects have a high local component, since they will be constructed by companies with a strong presence in the area, including Eiffage, involving up to 570 workers. The Barcience plant (50 MW) will have 144,900 modules and on completion will produce clean energy for a population equivalent to 24,700 households/year, avoiding 15,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere per year. In Cuenca, Romeral (50 MW) will have 144,900 modules and will be built between Alarcón and Olmedilla de Alarcón. Olmedilla (50 MW) will have 135,090 modules and will be installed in the municipalities of Valdeverdejo, Alarcón and Olmedilla de Alarcón. Once these two plants come into operation - scheduled for this year - they will produce clean energy for a population equivalent to 24,500 households/year, in the case of Romeral, and almost 30,000 households/year, for Olmedilla. Romeral will avoid 15,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year and Olmedilla 18,000 tonnes CO2/year. In Castilla-La Mancha, Iberdrola is working on another 100 MW photovoltaic project in Ciudad Real. Puertollano II will become the testing site for ground-breaking technologies such as green hydrogen. With an investment of €150m, Iberdrola will be developing Europe's biggest green hydrogen plant for industrial use. This will involve the construction of a photovoltaic plant (100 MW), a battery installation and a system for producing green H2 by electrolysis from 100% renewable sources. Its development and construction will create 700 jobs and, once operational, will avoid 39,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. Accelerated investments to contribute towards the green recovery Iberdrola is stepping up its renewable investments in Spain, with the conviction that electrification will be the mechanism for economic activity and job revival. The company will make record investments of €10bn this year into renewable energy, smart electricity grids and large-scale storage systems - twice the amount invested in the last five years - after having spent €100 bn since 2001 worldwide; €25 bn of which was in Spain. In Castile-La Mancha, the company operates 2,229 MW of renewable energy, mainly wind power, which makes it the third autonomous community with the highest ‘green’ megawatts installed by Iberdrola. Iberdrola is the leader in renewable energies in Spain, with installed wind capacity of more than 6,000 MW and over 16,600 MW in renewables. Worldwide, the total amounts to 32,700 MW, making its generation facilities among the cleanest in the energy sector. READ MORE
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07/09/2020Iberdrola strengthens commitment to Portugal with the latest photovoltaic auction, bringing its renewable capacity to over 1,500 MW Iberdrola reinforces its commitment to renewables in Portugal, following today’s announcement of the official results for the recent capacity auction, where the company has been awarded a connection to the grid in the Algarve for a hybrid photovoltaic project, with 83 megawatts (MW) installed capacity, with 14 MW of storage, which will stabilise the system and manage discharge into the grid at times of high demand. With this latest award, Iberdrola will reach a total of 1,519 MW of renewable capacity in Portugal: 1,158 MW in hydroelectric technology, 255 MW photovoltaic, 14 MW battery storage and 92 MW of existing wind energy in operation. With an investment of over €1.5 billion, the project includes the construction of three dams and three power plants (Gouvães, Daivões and Alto Tâmega) with a combined capacity of 1,158 MW including a pumping station, which will become one of the largest energy storage facilities in Portugal. In addition, the company is progressing development of 172 MW solar capacity awarded in August 2019 in the Algarve and Tagus Valley regions and already operates three wind farms with a total of 92 MW capacity, involving an investment of €200 million euros. With the Tâmega complex and the new solar capacity awarded, Iberdrola – which has reduced its emissions in Europe by 75% since 2000 – is contributing to Portugal's commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. In the Portuguese electricity market, Iberdrola leads the industrial – large consumer segment, with a market share of 28% while serving around 400,000 electricity and gas customers. The company also has the country’s third largest market share in terms of electricity customers (5.9%) and the second largest in demand (5.7%). In Portugal, Iberdrola contributes with an innovative and sustainable approach, selling 100% green electricity to its customers. In recent months, Europe has shown the competitiveness of renewable energy sources as the main vector for achieving the electrification of the economy. Iberdrola has demonstrated once more its ability to compete in the latest renewable capacity auctions in the Continent: in addition to Portugal, the company was awarded three wind farms in Greece this summer, with a combined capacity of 98.1 megawatts (MW). Accelerating investments to help green recovery Iberdrola is confident that electrification will act as a lever for change in the post-COVID world and has therefore accelerated investment to help revitalise economic activity and job creation. This commitment to a green recovery will see record investments this year of €10 billion in renewable energy, smarter electricity networks and large-scale storage systems, after having spent €100 billion globally since 2001. Iberdrola is a global renewable energy leader with an installed capacity of 32,695 MW, making its generation fleet one of the cleanest in the energy sector. As of June, the company's renewable energy project pipeline exceeded 58,000 MW. READ MORE
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07/09/2020Iberdrola completes supply contracts for Saint-Brieuc, its first offshore wind farm in the English Channel Iberdrola continues to make progress in the development of Saint Brieuc, its first large-scale offshore wind project in Brittany – with €2.4 billion investment and 496 megawatts (MW) installed capacity – and has awarded a major contract for the construction of the offshore substation. A joint venture, formed by Eiffage Métal and Engie Solutions, will be responsible for the fabrication of all the structural elements of the substation, except for the electrical equipment. Eiffage Métal will be in charge of the engineering and construction of the foundation and topside that houses the transformers and electrical equipment. ENGIE Solutions will carry out final assembly work and commissioning tests. The substation is one of the key elements of the windfarm, tasked with collecting and preparing for export all the electricity produced by the 62 wind turbines, estimated at around 1,820 GWh per year. With this energy production it will be possible to sustainably meet the demand of 835,000 people and avoid the emission of 100,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year. The substation is made up of a jacket foundation – measuring 63 m high and weighing 1,630 tons – and a topside measuring 55 m long, 31 m wide and 23 m high, with a total weight of approximately 3,400 tons. Fabrication works, scheduled to finish in early 2022, will be carried out in the yards operated by Eiffage in Belgium and Poland with final assembly works to take place in Belgium at the shipyards run by Engie Solutions. A European project fostering industrialization and job creation With this new contract, Iberdrola confirms its commitment to the green recovery and sustainable growth in the European Union while helping to reindustrialise and modernise the European shipbuilding sector, on which thousands of jobs across the continent depend. As was the case with Wikinger and East Anglia One, this new renewable facility has become a new example of how the green economy based on investments in renewables drives industrialisation in sectors with growth potential in Europe and acts as a tractor for sustainable and quality jobs in Spanish and European companies. Last June, the Navantia-Windar joint venture was awarded the construction of the 62 jackets, with their respective piles. The contract, valued at €350 million, is the largest offshore wind award in the history of the Navantia-Windar joint venture that is meant to create around 1,000 jobs both in Asturias, where the piles are being manufactured, and in Galicia, where the jackets are being made and the final assembly of all the components will take place. At the moment, some 15 local suppliers are already working in the Ría de Ferrol (Galicia) and in Avilés (Asturias), and it is estimated that in the coming months the number will double. In addition, in the port of Brest itself, this contract has mobilised several French companies. The development of Saint-Brieuc enters its final stretch Since March 2020, Iberdrola has completed almost all the supply contracts for Saint-Brieuc, with only the electrical equipment for the substation yet to be awarded. The wind turbines are being manufactured by Siemens Gamesa, Prysmian will take over the underwater cable, Van Oord will transport the foundations — planned for March 2021 — and Saipem will install the substation on site. The windfarm’s commissioning is planned for 2023. This new facility shows Iberdrola's commitment to the French market where the company plans to invest up to €4 billion over the next four years. Accelerating investments to help green recovery Iberdrola is confident that electrification will act as a lever for change in the post-COVID world and has therefore accelerated investment to help revitalise economic activity and job creation. This commitment to a green recovery will see record investments this year of €10 billion in renewable energy, smarter electricity networks and large-scale storage systems, after having spent €100 billion globally since 2001. In offshore wind, the company already has plants in operation in the Irish Sea, in German waters of the Baltic and in the North Sea; it is working on new developments in the United Kingdom and the United States, in addition to France; and has a 12,000 MW project pipeline. Iberdrola is a global renewable energy leader with an installed capacity of 32,695 MW, making its generation fleet one of the cleanest in the energy sector. As of June, the company's renewable energy project pipeline exceeded 58,000 MW. READ MORE
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04/09/2020Iberdrola revitalises the Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe with new exterior ornamental lighting The Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe has premiered its new lighting after the completion of the project carried out by Iberdrola. Aimed at revitalising one of the greatest architectural symbols of Extremadura, which was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1993, the lighting highlights and enhances the profile of the monastery and modernises its exterior ornamental lighting. The unveiling of the new lighting was attended by the chairman of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, accompanied by the president of the Regional Government of Extremadura, Guillermo Fernández Vara; the provincial minister of the Franciscan Province of the Immaculate Conception, Fr Juan Carlos Moya; and the mayor of Guadalupe, Felipe Sánchez Barba. In his presentation, Ignacio Galán explained that “this work to preserve our historical-artistic heritage allows us to raise awareness regarding our origins and culture and promote quality tourism, which will be key to the economic recovery of regions such as this one”. He also added that “promoting economic and social development is, for us, a responsibility and a commitment, with which we create sustainable value in all the regions in which we are present”. The work carried out by Iberdrola over the last four months has helped to enhance the volumes of the architectural whole -with its Gothic, Mudejar, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical styles- and enhance its heights and depths, after reinforcing the upper bodies of the monastery: towers, main façade with its crestings and dome. The project also contributes to sustainability, by improving energy efficiency by 60% and avoiding the emission of 5.3 t CO2 per year. The lighting combines the use of the most advanced LED technology, with careful installation and control of the luminous night glow. Likewise, the lighting perimeter of the monastery has been expanded, with the installation of 197 projectors. This initiative are part of the Commemorative Programme to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Royal Monastery being declared a World Heritage site. Committed to creating value in communities The action is part of Iberdrola’s commitment to creating value in the communities in which it operates, such as in Extremadura, which has become the centre of its renewable development strategy in Spain and where it will develop 2000 MW of renewables by 2022. Following the commissioning of Europe's largest photovoltaic plant, Núñez de Balboa , Iberdrola is constructing another seven renewable energy projects in the region in the coming months, with a total capacity of 728 MW. It also has the 590 MW Francisco Pizarro plant in the pipeline. These actions will entail an investment of more than 1.5 billion euros and the creation of thousands of jobs in the community. In Extremadura, the company already manages a dozen energy facilities with an installed capacity of 3,600 MW and it has more than 12,000 km of power lines, with which it serves more than 350,000 customers. Iberdrola is the leader in renewable energy in Spain, with more than 16,600 MW installed – of which 6,000 MW are wind power –. Worldwide, the total amounts to 32,700 MW, making its generation facilities among the cleanest in the energy sector. Iberdrola, committed to promoting art and culture One of the Iberdrola's main areas of activity focuses on the care, conservation and promotion of historic and artistic treasures. The main objective of the Lighting Programme is to carry out work on unique buildings to install or improve indoor and/or outdoor lighting in order to help enhance Spain’s historical-artistic heritage. Since 2011, the investment assigned to the Lighting Programme has surpassed 3 million euros, and has resulted in improvements to more than 40 monuments in Spain , including the Roman Bridge in Alcántara, Cáceres; the façade to the Congress of Deputies in Madrid; the Cathedral in Ávila and the interior of the New Cathedral in Salamanca. READ MORE
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03/09/2020Galán: “Now is the time to hasten the transformation of Spain’s industrial fabric by supporting the green economy” In his speech at the round table ‘Recovery and reconstruction of the Spanish economy: challenges and priorities’, Iberdrola chairman Ignacio Galán mentioned that to face the crisis caused by Covid-19, reconstruction plans will be needed “of an unprecedented magnitude.” However, he also stated that such plans “will not only help bring about a recovery as quickly as possible, but also become an opportunity to transform our economy, making it more modern and solid, more internationalised and more competitive.” At the the event, which was attended by the Third Vice President of the Government and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño, Galán explained that “investment in the green economy is not just about energy, it also creates significant structural benefits as it cuts across all of society.” Chief among these, he stated, are the improvement of economic competitiveness and the balance of payments, a reduction in emissions and pollution, and a significant driving effect on industry and employment in industries such as construction, equipment manufacture, engineering services and machine tools, “with a particularly positive impact on rural areas in the so-called emptied Spain.” To entice private investment, he explained, a clear energy policy and attractive regulatory framework will be needed. “We are seeing positive advancements, such as the 2050 Decarbonisation Strategy and the National Energy and Climate Plan, which enables us to have a roadmap for mobilising nearly 240 billion euros in investment and generating 300,000 new jobs in our country.” He also added that “the only way out of a crisis like this one is by working and investing in industries and activities that reflect opportunities with a real future,” but that the global nature of the crisis “is going to create a lot of competition between countries for capital and talent, which will make it more essential than ever to have stable, predictable and attractive frameworks that provide legal security and attract the needed investments.” Now is the time to be ambitious and support the green economy Galán expressed his conviction that “now is the time to be ambitious” and support the green economy. He also made an urgent appeal for everyone to come together. “There is a lot left to do. Now is the time for all of us to take a step forward. I applaud the European Commission’s commitment to the green economy, an area we at Iberdrola have been working in for 20 years. It means hastening the transformation of the industrial fabric and taking advantage of its ability to improve competitiveness and create jobs.” The Iberdrola chairman explained that supporting the green economy means “investing in renewables, smart grids and storage, thus enabling more widespread electrification.” Furthermore, he pointed out that this transition presents opportunities in new technologies and industrial processes, such as green hydrogen, and urged people to “move quickly in this field and not be left behind new European partners.” He went on to recall the project to build the biggest industrial green hydrogen production plant in Europe, which the company will be opening in Puertollano with an investment of 150 million euros. State-of-the-art Spanish companies in industries with a future At the meeting, Galán once again emphasised his confidence in Spain’s strengths. “Our country has state-of-the-art companies in industries with a future, but we must promote an optimal business structure and create a critical mass to guarantee that investments and employment will remain within the country.” Likewise, he reaffirmed the company’s commitment to the reconstruction and transformation process. “We have increased the pace of investment, which will reach 10 billion euros this year, double our investment in the previous 5 years. “Furthermore, over the past few months we have placed advance orders worth nearly 7 billion euros with our suppliers to give them the visibility they need in these times and help sustain the more than 400,000 jobs we create throughout the value chain.” More than a third of this volume has been earmarked for Spanish companies, “thus contributing to their growth and international competitiveness.” In 2020, the group will hire 5,000 people, “giving young people new opportunities”, he concluded. READ MORE
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31/08/2020Puertollano is hosting the exhibition 'The Prado Museum in the Streets' with reproductions of the gallery's most emblematic works This project, called “The Prado Museum in the Streets”, is sponsored by the Fundación Iberdrola España and aims to promote knowledge, dissemination and communication regarding the collections and the cultural identity of the historical heritage attached to the Museum, encouraging education programmes and cultural awareness-raising activities. In addition, it aims to recreate the experience of visiting the museum by making it possible to contemplate the paintings in life-size, giving an experience similar to that of being in front of a true work of art. Until 23 September, the exhibition, which was opened this morning by Isabel Rodríguez García, mayor of Puertollano, Andrés Úbeda, deputy director of conservation and research at the Museo del Prado in Madrid; Fernando García, president of the Fundación Iberdrola España, and Ana Muñoz Muñoz, vice-minister of culture and sports in the Castilla–La Mancha regional government, will bring to the people living in the area 50 of the most important works in the Madrid collection through photographic reproductions. These reproductions are to scale although their size is adjusted to the dimensions of the panels in the exhibition (184 x 122 cm) and they are located on the Paseo de San Gregorio, one of the town's most emblematic spaces. This large outdoor exhibition, which is curated by Fernando Pérez Suescun, the head of educational content at the Prado Museum, will allow the visiting public to take a tour of the different schools that make up the artistic panorama of the permanent collection at the Prado and give them an understanding of the history of Spain, Europe and Western art in general at the hands of the great masters of painting. The Spanish, Italian, Flemish, French, German and Dutch schools will be present through paintings from the twelfth century to the early years of the twentieth century. The exhibition also features bilingual information on each of the works and panels, also bilingual, providing information on the history of the Museum and its collections. The reproductions are shown at a scale of 1:1, so, due to the dimensions of the exhibition supports, some of the reproductions can only offer a magnificent and grandiose detail of larger original paintings, which can be seen complete on the explanatory poster. After the great success of the exhibition during the celebration of the Museum's Bicentenary, The Prado in the Streets began its journey through Castilla-La Mancha on 13 July in Sigüenza and it will spend over ten months in eight towns in Castilla-La Mancha. In addition to Sigüenza and Puertollano, it will also be possible to enjoy the exhibition in Tomelloso, Ciudad Real, Toledo, Guadalajara, Cuenca, and Talavera de la Reina. Fundación Iberdrola España, protector member of the Prado Museum Iberdrola, through its foundation in Spain , focuses one of its prime areas of activity on cultural development, mainly on the care and maintenance of cultural and artistic wealth. The foundation has collaborated with the Prado Museum since 2020, by supporting conservation and restoration programmes undertaken by the gallery, as well as through four annual scholarships for young restorers. In addition, it joined the extraordinary programme to commemorate the Prado Museum's bicentennial and, in particular, the mounting of this travelling exhibition across Spain. Since 2011, Fundación Iberdrola has allocated a total of 13 million euros to art and culture, focusing its resources primarily on the Restoration Programme that supports the museum's restoration workshops, which are a reference for the conservation of its pictorial and artistic heritage. The foundation also supports the Lighting Programme, which includes the design, execution and financing of artistic projects to light iconic buildings and monuments. READ MORE
