News
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22/11/2021Iberdrola hosts the captains of European industry The chairman of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, welcomed the vice president of the government, Nadia Calviño, as the main representative of the Spanish government to a dinner held with the CEOs of 60 of Europe's leading industries — members of the European Round Table for Industry (ERT) — which met this week in Bilbao. * The plenary session of the ERT was attended by HR King Felipe VI and sought to join forces to address the great challenges of competitiveness facing the European industrial sector. * The productive conversations between Basque institutions, the Spanish government and the European executives will give impetus to their efforts to drive the economic recovery. * Galán has made Bilbao the industrial capital of the world, opening the doors to investment in the territory. In this regard, Spain and Iberdrola acted as hosts and positioned Spain as the centre of industry. READ MORE
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19/11/2021Iberdrola breaks ground on Vineyard Wind 1, the United States' first large-scale offshore wind farm Iberdrola is starting work on the United States' first large-scale offshore wind farm. The project will be 25 times the size of the country's only existing offshore facility, located in Rhode Island. Vineyard Wind 1 will be operated by Vineyard Wind, a company 50 % owned by the Iberdrola group -through AVANGRID subsidiary Avangrid Renewables- and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP). The 800-megawatt (MW) project is located 24 km from the coast of Martha's Vineyard, and will generate enough wind power to cover the needs of 400,000 households. It will also reduce tariffs by $1.4 million in the first 20 years of operation, while preventing the emission of more than 1.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, the equivalent or taking 325,000 vehicles off the roads. The other offshore wind farm in Rhode Island has 30 MW installed capacity and supplies clean energy to 17,000 homes. A ceremony to mark the start of the construction of Vineyard Wind 1 was held in Barnstable county, Massachusetts. The event was attended by Deb Haaland, the United States secretary of the interior, the governor of the State of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, and other state and local officials. Vineyard Wind CEO Lars T. Pedersen; main partner and cofounder of CIP Christian T. Skakkebæk; and the managing director of AVANGRID, Dennis V. Arriola also attended on behalf of the project partners. “Vineyard Wind 1 is on a par with the most ambitious offshore developments globally, including those developed by the Iberdrola Group. Not many countries have the ambition to launch their first project at a scale that will power 400,000 homes and create 3,600 jobs,” said Ignacio Galán, Chairman and CEO of Iberdrola and Chairman of AVANGRID. “With 15 years of offshore wind leadership, Iberdrola and Avangrid are more than ready to help the US benefit from the substantial opportunities of offshore wind including economic investment and job creation. Our offshore developments in New England and North Carolina/Virginia could represent a total investment well above $15 billion in the coming years.” Under the Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with the Southeast Massachusetts Building Trades, the work being done on site is using local union labor. The PLA ensures that at least 500 of the jobs created during the construction phase of the project will be filled by local tradespeople and includes aggressive hiring targets for women and black, indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC). “This is the kind of investment from Vineyard Wind that will allow Massachusetts to keep leading the nation towards a clean energy economy,” said Massachusetts senator Edward J. Markey, who took the opportunity to congratulate everyone involved in this unprecedented project. Pioneering clean energy in the United States Iberdrola will invest more than $35 billion in the United States between 2020 and 2025. It currently has three of the country's most important energy initiatives underway, which will require $11 billion of investment in renewables and grids: the construction of the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm, the acquisition of PNM Resources in New Mexico and Texas and the development of the New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) transmission line. By 2025, Iberdrola will be operating 13,200 MW of renewable capacity in the United States, 70 % more than in 2020. The company is also investing in network infrastructure to help to decarbonise the economy, which will reach $12 billion by 2025. In addition, the transaction with PNM Resources in New Mexico and Texas -worth $8.3 billion-, will gain the company 800,000 new customers in the country. The latter transaction is expected to receive final approval in the final quarter of 2021. Avangrid currently operates eight utilities in New York, Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts, serving a population of 7 million people, with 3.3 million direct customers. Global leader in offshore energy production: Europe, United States and the rest of the world Iberdrola leads the world in the development of offshore wind generation, with more than 38,000 MW of assets. Focused on countries with ambitious objectives, the company expects to have 18,000 MW of offshore wind operating in different markets by 2030. In Europe, Iberdrola is at the forefront of the offshore wind market with 1,300 MW of operating capacity in Wikenger, Germany and the East Anglia ONE and West of Duddon Sands farms in the United Kingdom. It also has almost 1,000 MW under construction at Baltic Eagle in Germany and St. Brieuc in France. The company also manages a broad portfolio of projects in the United Kingdom, France and Germany, and in new growth platforms such as Ireland, Sweden, Poland and Denmark. The company is also a leader and pioneer in developing the offshore wind market in the United States. As well as Vineyard Wind 1 (800 MW), the company is stepping up its trajectory with today's agreement to develop more than 2,000 MW of installed capacity with Park City Wind and Commonwealth Wind. Avangrid also owns the Kitty Hawk development area (2,500 MW) in North Carolina, has already started the BOEM permitting process for the Kitty Hawk North project (800 MW), the first project to be developed in this area, and manages other farms at an earlier stage of development. Iberdrola is speeding up developments in the United States with the same strategy that it used in the United Kingdom. After four years of initial development with Vattenfall, it took control of almost 4,000 MW of capacity and has since developed the operational East Anglia ONE (714 MW) and East Anglia HUB (3,100 MW) projects. In the rest of the world, the company is establishing new platforms for growth in a number of regions, with a significant project portfolio in Asia (Japan and Taiwan), and emerging markets, such as Brazil. READ MORE
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19/11/2021Three new photovoltaic plants will supply around 118,000 homes The province of Cáceres has become one of the epicentres of solar energy with the execution of several Iberdrola projects. The photovoltaic plant in Arenales will have an installed capacity of 150 MW, and the two plants in Almaraz will add a further 80 MW. The construction process alone has and will create more than 700 jobs. As part of the global commitment to reducing emissions and fighting climate change, these plants will prevent the emission of more than 55,500 tonnes of CO2 into the environment every year. The photovoltaic plant in Arenales goes live The Arenales plant in Cáceres has been authorised to start the commissioning process. With an installed capacity of 150 MW, Arenales will supply renewable energy to almost 82,000 households. A total of 391,590 modules have been installed to prevent 38,500 tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere. They are all installed on trackers to increase their energy production. It was built in seven months and created 430 jobs at peak times, of which more than 60 % went to local people from the area. A transformer has also been built, along with an interconnection and a 12 km line with 43 supports. Employees of Ilunion and the La Hormiga Verde special employment centre took part in the construction work, with a clear commitment to involving people with disabilities in these innovative projects. What's more, a team of firefighters was available throughout the process. Regional suppliers such as IMEDEXA in Casar de Cáceres and FARMAX in Marpartida de Plasencia were also involved, creating jobs and economic development in other locations. Almaraz adds a further two photovoltaic complexes Work has also started on two photovoltaic plants in Almaraz with 50 MW and 30 MW of installed power, respectively, despite the supply crisis and thanks to suitable foresight and project management and a resilient supply chain. The metal structures are being manufactured by CAMETO, a company based in Tomelloso in the province of Ciudad Real, where the company has other photovoltaic projects. A part of the metal structure is made with "green steel" manufactured by Arcelor MITTAL, which has been certified by a reputable company, with iron management methods that lead to a considerable reduction in the carbon footprint These projects will continue to provide local jobs in the coming months, stimulating the regional economy with orders to manufacture equipment and materials, as well as creating municipal wealth through taxes, which will help to boost local economies. In September, Iberdrola announced the commissioning of the Arañuelo III (40 MW) photovoltaic plant in Romangordo, Caceres, the first in Spain to include a storage system, in this case, a 3 MW battery with 9 Mwh storage power. This plant is part of the Campo Arañuelo complex in Almaraz, which consists of the Arañuelo I, II and II photovoltaic plants, with a combined installed capacity of 143 MW. Committed to the rural and natural environment Iberdrola has other photovoltaic plants in Extremadura, such as the Nuñez de Balboa plant in Usagre (Badajoz), where more than 1,200 sheep graze on the land of this facility whose 500 MW make it the biggest in Europe and Iberdrola's largest in the world. The plant has an environmental integration plan, allowing the land to be used as pasture for sheep. The space will be shared by nature, livestock, shepherds and the photovoltaic plant READ MORE
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18/11/2021Ignacio Galán insists "massive electrification with more renewables" is the solution to climate change Iberdrola Group chairman Ignacio Galán has once again issued a call to "turn words into action" to fight the climate emergency during his speech given at the forum entitled Electrify Now: which role for electrification in the European Green Deal ?), which was organised by the Alliance for Electrification and involved the main CEOs of the European energy group. Galán underlined the following ideas: * Climate change requires more than just protecting the environment: "The planet will survive, what will not survive is humankind", he said, insisting that, although progress has been made, "we have no time to waste". * "The solution is massive electrification with more renewables", accompanied by reliable networks that will permit the decarbonisation of sectors like transport and heating. * He urged governments to promote electrification as "a great opportunity not only for decarbonisation , but also to improve efficacy and competitiveness while creating millions of new jobs" and he insisted that "we must not be afraid of change". * It is necessary to "speed up investments in renewables, networks and storage; reduce taxes and apply the 'polluter pays' principle; while reserving regulated prices for only the most vulnerable customers and using income from CO2 emissions rights to help those suffering the consequences of the energy transition ". READ MORE
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17/11/2021Iberdrola is among the top ten women-friendly companies in the working world Iberdrola is among the top ten companies in the world when it comes to integrating women. This was the finding of the study World's Top Female Friendly Companies 2021, for which Forbes collaborated with market research company Statista to identify leading companies that support women within and outside the workplace. Gender equality is among the commitments that Iberdrola includes in its labour policy and which, through different initiatives, it integrates into four areas of its management, namely recruitment and selection, salary conditions, training and professional development, and communication. Women account for 23 % of the Iberdrola workforce. Significant improvements have already been achieved, but the aim is to keep making progress until the company is an international equality benchmark. By 2022, the company has set itself the goal of filling 25 % of all management positions with women - as opposed to the current 21.53 % - reaching 30 % by 2025, as well as maintaining salary equality. A pioneering company in work-life balance Iberdrola has more than 70 measures to enable employees to balance their work and personal lives. As well as complying with the applicable regulations in its areas of influence, the company applies measures such as paying 100 % of salary during parental leave, 15 days of paid leave before giving birth, flexible reduction in work hours to five hours (without a salary reduction until the child is one year old), leave of absence of up to four years - during which time vocational training is available - and comprehensive action plans to address inequality on all fronts. The Iberdrola Group also has a long history of supporting projects to empower women. Supporting more than 330,000 female athletes in several countries, the company is the main sponsor of sportswomen in European sport. Iberdrola is the top sports partner-sponsor of the Spanish National Women's Football Team, the national sub-19 and sub-17 teams, the Queen's Cup and First Division Women's Football: the Liga Iberdrola. In 2019, it ratified its commitment to the project and is continuing to support several national federations. It currently supports 16 women's sports federations: athletics, badminton, handball, boxing, ice sports, fencing, football, gymnastics, hockey, karate, rugby, canoeing, triathlon, table tennis, surfing and volleyball. In Brazil, through Neoenergia, it was the first company in the country to be the exclusive sponsor of the National Women's Football Team, support which extends to the Brazilian championship, which has now been renamed Brasileirão Feminino Neoenergia (Neoenergia Women's Championship). The company helped the Brazilian women's squad to prepare for the Tokyo Olympic Games and will be there in the run-up to the Copa América Femenina 2022, the South American Grassroots Football Championship, the Women's World Cup 2023 and the Paris Olympic Games in 2024. READ MORE
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16/11/2021Iberdrola selects four international projects to promote coexistence of agriculture and livestock farming in photovoltaic plants Iberdrola is making progress in its commitment to preserving biodiversity while rolling out its ambitious investment plan in renewable projects. Through its PERSEO international start-up programme, it has selected four international projects to identify innovative solutions that promote the coexistence of solar photovoltaic generation plants with activities related to agriculture, livestock farming and horticulture, in order to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the facilities, the use of the land and to protect biodiversity. The solutions are aimed at creating synergies on land used primarily for farming that is also suitable for solar photovoltaic installations, to find the best ways for these activities to co-exist and boost local economies. The projects presented support the energy transition and the fight against climate change, as well as being located in areas facing demographic challenges. Iberdrola will provide the winning companies with technical and financial support to test their solutions, giving them access to the resources needed to develop them (equipment, teams, infrastructure, and co-working areas) in a real-world environment. If a pilot project is successful, Iberdrola may also offer the participant the opportunity to scale-up the solution with commercial agreements or direct investment in the company through PERSEO. Photovoltaics compatible with irrigated crops, viticulture, olive and fruit trees and animal welfare In response to this challenge, the company received 110 proposals from 32 countries. Iberdrola has selected four winning companies, and will design projects in various locations: * Irrigated crops: the Spanish company EcoEnergías del Guadiana has presented a pilot project to combine tomato cultivation under fixed or retractable structures that support solar panels, making possible to mitigate plant stress during heat waves, save water and improve harvest yields. * Viticulture: the Winesolar project is a collaboration between three Spanish companies: Techedge (advance technological solutions), PVH (PV tracker and structure manufacturer) and Gonzalez Byass (Wine and Spirits with 14 wineries in Spain, Chile, Mexico and 3 distillery). The challenge of mitigating and adapting to the climate change effects in viticulture is a major undertaking. The Winesolar solution will develop a photovoltaic system with an intelligent tracker adapted to generate shadow and protect vineyards. Additionally, an artificial intelligent algorithm will control those trackers to adapt them to the physiological needs of the vineyards, and in parallel optimize PV production.Data gathered by the sensors, rolled out in the vineyards to measure humidity, temperature, etc will also feed the algorithm. In short, Winesolar aims to help make vineyards more resilient to climate change and to be neutral or negative in terms of CO2 impact. * For Fruit trees: Dynamic agrivoltaic solution. French startup Ombrea has developed a climate control and regulation system powered by artificial intelligence to protect crops against climate change. The remote solution, based on solar panels, spreads out and retracts in order to modulates light and shadow according to data collected on-site via sensors. The aim is to protect plants from extreme heat, drought, hail and frost. * Bovine care: French company itk is developing science-based solutions to support the agricultural and agrifood sectors in adapting to climate change and decarbonizing agriculture while ensuring the performance and resilience of farms. Its FarmLife cow behavior monitoring and analysis platform aims to enhance time management and improve performance by providing decision-making data on 4 pillars of productivity: reproduction, nutrition, comfort and health. Competitive and sustainable energy and environmental balance Iberdrola has fully integrated the biological diversity of ecosystems into its strategy, demonstrating that competitive, clean and sustainable energy supply can effectively coexist with environmental balance. The company plans to achieve “zero net biodiversity loss” by 2030, by committing to a net positive impact for its new infrastructure developments. Iberdrola has carried out more than 1,450 actions to protect biodiversity over the last three years that combine installing renewable projects with conserving the biological diversity of ecosystems, caring for flora, fauna and natural heritage. The most recent project involved installing beehives in photovoltaic projects to preserve biodiversity and promote the circular economy. Bovine livestock is present in many Iberdrola PV plants. Iberdrola has worked with landowners to develop sustainable cattle management plans, which helps to avoid over-grazing and ensure the protection and development of plant species. Cattle management on-site also allows for vegetation height control, which reduces fire risk as well as providing nutrients and seeds for the soil, increasing natural biodiversity. In Spain, Iberdrola and ASAJA have signed a strategic alliance to promote emission-free sustainable agriculture and livestock farming. A work plan has been designed with two objectives: to promote actions aimed at improving energy efficiency and delivering initiatives to preserve biodiversity and care for the rural environment. PERSEO: more than 10 years of innovation Iberdrola’s PERSEO international start-up programme aims to facilitate Iberdrola's access to the technologies of the future and to promote the creation and development of a global and dynamic ecosystem comprising technology companies and entrepreneurs in the electricity sector. To achive this, it has 85 million to invest in start-ups and, through its Perseo Venture Builder unit, another 40 million to launch innovative industrial companies working in new areas related to electrification and in sectors that are difficult to decarbonise. Since its creation in 2008, PERSEO has invested 70 million euros in start-ups that are developing innovative technologies and business models, focusing on those that improve the sustainability of the energy sector through greater electrification and decarbonisation of the economy. The programme has focused its actions on analysing business opportunities and technological collaboration with start-ups and emerging companies around the world, analysing 300 companies each year and creating an ecosystem of almost 3,000 dynamic companies. This investment instrument currently has a portfolio of eight companies. READ MORE
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15/11/2021"Now the real task begins: to fulfil our commitment to future generations with specific actions" Under the title “The summit begins today”, the newspaper El País has published an opinion piece by the chairman of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, after COP26 in Glasgow, in which he argues that "now the real task begins: to take on our obligation towards future generations with specific actions”. Here are some of the ideas which Galán puts forward: * Limiting global warming to 1.5°C "could be achieved as early as the next decade", "because the world has all the technologies, social consensus and financial resources necessary for the energy transition". To achieve this, there is an “urgent need for action” as otherwise we will be stuck with “big words but little progress”. * “The diagnosis is clear: the use of fossil fuels is driving us to the edge of the abyss”, he says, calling for “a decisive turnaround in energy policy this decade because this is what society is demanding and because there is no Planet B”. To this end, he calls for “a clear long-term vision for the legislative or administrative changes that will be needed”. * “The planet that hosts us is finite and closed”, warns Ignacio Galán, who anticipates “a new way of being and being in the world; a new way of relating to the environment and to each other” and he urges us to “challenge received wisdom” so that we “fulfil the needs of future generations and of the history of humanity itself”, he concludes. READ MORE
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15/11/2021International experts debate the role of trade policy in the fight against climate change The legal team at ScottishPower, the Iberdrola group's UK subsidiary, hosted a meeting of renowned world experts at the COP26 Climate Summit to discuss the pivotal role played by trade policies in the fight against climate change. The panel, made up of Laura Lane, Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at UPS; Jakob Kiefer, Head of the Public Affairs Group at ABB; Hoe Lim, Director of the Environmental Division at the World Trade Organization (WTO); and Alison Hamilton, New Zealand's Deputy Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO), analysed how trade policies can be better aligned with climate change objectives. The experts also talked about Delivering a Climate Trade Agenda: Industry Insights (Application of a climate trade programme: Industry perspectives), a report recently published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in collaboration with international law firm Clifford Chance. Børge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum, also joined the event to deliver the keynote speech on the important role and interactions between trade, the climate and foreign policy in the fight against climate change. The WEF report explains that historically, trade and climate policy have largely been developed in separate silos. However, the pressing nature of the climate emergency demands more attention be given to the role trade policy can play in speeding up the reduction in emissions and mitigating the effects of climate change. The report gives the vision of more than 30 companies around the world, including Iberdrola and ScottishPower. READ MORE
