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10/02/2022Iberdrola, the only European company with President Joe Biden at the Washington Energy Roundtable Iberdrola once again demonstrates its commitment to the United States. This Wednesday, the company took part in a high-level meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House, and was the only European company invited to the meeting. During the meeting, which was also attended by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and White House climate advisor Gina McCarthy, priorities for the electricity infrastructure investment programme were discussed. The meeting focused on tax credits for clean energy and the long-term benefits they will bring to consumers, as well as the need to build new transmission and storage infrastructure to strengthen the system, exponentially increase the share of clean energy in the generation mix and support the deployment of electrification in transport and other sectors of the economy. A meeting was also held with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall and National Cybersecurity Director Chris Inglis on increasing collaboration between the Administration and the private sector to address cybersecurity threats to power grids and facilities, strategic assets of the economy as well as making it more resilient in response to severe weather events that require significant demand peaks. President Biden has made it clear that building modern, climate-resilient infrastructure is key to his economic plan and a clean energy future, and that companies like Iberdrola will play a key role in building a sustainable future and creating more jobs. The meeting comes at a time when progress is being made on a new version of the so-called Build Back Better Act, with $550 billion in energy and climate spending. This includes more than $300 billion in new tax credits for wind and solar energy, among other technologies. Iberdrola: leading energy company in the United States Iberdrola's history in the United States is a story of growth. In less than two decades, the company chaired by Ignacio Galán has not only managed to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but also to position itself as one of the largest electricity groups in the country, present in 25 states. This is due to the significant commitment it made 17 years ago to clean energy in the country, where it has already installed more than 8,000 MW, has more than 170,000 kilometres of power lines and manages eight utilities in New York, Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts, serving a population of almost 10 million people. Iberdrola is one of the three largest renewables companies in the country, mainly with its new offshore wind projects, where it is a benchmark with a portfolio of 4,900 MW. In the US, it will invest more than 30 billion dollars in the period 2020-2025 in transmission and distribution networks and renewables, which will enable it to almost double its renewable capacity by 2025. These investments are aimed at increasing its presence in the offshore wind and photovoltaic sectors, as well as strengthening its leadership in onshore wind. The company has been a pioneer in the development of the US offshore wind market, with investments of more than $10 billion in its three existing wind farms alone. It recently started construction of Vineyard Wind One (800 MW), the country's first large offshore wind farm. In December, Avangrid was awarded a contract for the Commonwealth Wind offshore wind farm in Massachusetts. The 1,232-megawatt (MW) project, New England's largest offshore wind project to date, will involve a $4 billion investment and create 11,000 jobs. The company 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. READ MORE
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09/02/2022Iberdrola recognized as Supplier Engagement Leader by CDP Iberdrola has been included for yet another year in the Supplier Engagement Leaderboard, pulled together by CDP, an international non-profit that, for over twenty years, has been helping companies and cities to disclose their environmental impact relying on transparency and climate practices performance across entire value chains. CDP has singled out Iberdrola for its work in engaging its suppliers on climate change, its efforts to measure and reduce this risk in its supply chain and its commitment to fighting climate change. Last year, the Spanish company decided to go a step further and extend its ESG targets to its more than 22,000 suppliers worldwide, responsible for supplying Iberdrola €20 billion of goods and services per year. Around 70% of Iberdrola’s 1,000 main global suppliers – those billing Iberdrola more than one million euros – will have met the ESG criteria target by the end of 2022. CDP develops their annual ranking evaluating and promoting the climate actions of companies in their supply chains. The companies with the best ratings are rated as leaders in supplier engagement. This distinction comes a few months after Iberdrola's recognition on CDP's so-called "A List" , which groups together the world's leading companies for their climate action plans and information transparency. The group is also ranked by key international sustainability indices, including the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, CDP, MSCI, Sustainalytics, Bloomberg GEI, Euronext Vigeo Eiris indices, Global100, EcoVadis, etc. Committed to Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Iberdrola has incorporated the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) , defined by the United Nations for 2030, into its business strategy and sustainability policy, and is a benchmark for its direct contribution to the global goals, highlighting its contributions in the field of energy and climate change. The company focuses its efforts on the supply of affordable, non-polluting energy (goal 7) and climate action (goal 13), although it contributes directly to ensuring clean water and sanitation (goal 6), has increased its investment in R&D&I activities (goal 9), promotes respect for the life of terrestrial ecosystems (goal 15) and works to establish alliances to achieve the goals (goal 17). Iberdrola has always shown its commitment to reducing emissions to combat climate change and move towards the decarbonisation of the economy. The company aims to reduce CO2 emissions intensity to 50 gCO2 /kWh by 2030, a 73% reduction since 2015, and to be net zero by 2050. READ MORE
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09/02/2022Iberdrola expands its photovoltaic business to Portugal with the construction of four plants Iberdrola continues to make progress with its investment strategy in the Iberian Peninsula, this time in Portugal, where it has begun installing its first photovoltaic plants in the country with 86 MW. These are four photovoltaic plants located in the district of Setúbal, south of the Portuguese capital: Algeruz II with an installed capacity of 27.35 MW, Conde (13.51 MW), Alcochete I (32.89 MW) and Alcochete II (12.72 MW). The projects are currently under construction and two of them, the Alcochete I and II plants, will be equipped with bifacial technology. Bifacial technology achieves greater efficiency in the plant, as it has two light-sensitive surfaces. That is, electricity is produced from both sides of the panel, because it has a transparent sheet instead of opaque materials. A tracking system allows the modules to move according to the path of the sun, maximising energy harvesting and extending the lifetime of the plant by reducing degradation. In addition, bifacial solar cells reduce the average cost of electricity by 16%. During the construction works, which are expected to last this year, 500 jobs will be created during peak periods and once operational they will be able to generate enough clean energy to supply more than 48,000 families, thus avoiding the emission of 56,000 tonnes of CO2 per year into the atmosphere. Renewable commitment to the Iberian Peninsula Iberdrola has been leading the energy transition for two decades , acting as a key driving force in the transformation of the industrial fabric and the green recovery of the economy and employment. To this end, the company has launched a historic investment plan of 150 billion euros over the next decade -75 billion euros by 2025-, with which to triple renewable capacity, double network assets and take advantage of the opportunities of the energy revolution facing the world's leading economies. The company currently has a portfolio of 81,800 MW of renewable energy, of which 17,300 MW are located on the Iberian Peninsula and some 15,000 MW of these have connection rights. In Spain, investments to 2025 amount to 14.3 billion euros, mainly for the deployment of an ambitious renewables and smart grids plan. In Spain, the company is a leader in the renewable sector with an installed capacity of 19,000 MW, which its investment plan to 2025 will increase to 25,000 MW. After investments of 120 billion euros in the last twenty years, Iberdrola is a leader in renewable energy with nearly 37,000 MW installed worldwide, a volume that makes its generation park one of the cleanest in the energy sector. With emissions of 98 grCO/kWh2, which is already two-thirds lower than the European average, Iberdrola's strategy of investing in clean energy and grids will lead Iberdrola to be a "carbon neutral" company in Europe by 2030. Portugal, a growing market In Portugal, Iberdrola serves a commercial portfolio of more than 870,000 supply points, has 92 MW of wind power in operation, and is commissioning the Támega gigabattery, one of Europe's largest pumped-storage projects , with 1,158 MW. This complex comprises three reservoirs (Gouvães, Daivões and Alto Támega) and three hydroelectric power plants, which will gradually come on stream by 2024. In fact, the company has just connected to the grid the first group of the Támega hydroelectric development, a pumping turbine with a capacity of 220 MW. The complex will be capable of producing 1,766 GWh per year, enough to meet the energy needs of neighbouring municipalities and the cities of Braga and Guimarães (440,000 households). In addition, this large renewable infrastructure will have sufficient storage capacity to serve two million Portuguese households for an entire day and will contribute to the decarbonisation and energy independence objectives set by the Portuguese government. READ MORE
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04/02/2022Iberdrola and the Spanish Association Against Cancer, together against cancer Iberdrola and the Spanish Association Against Cancer signed a collaboration agreement in 2015. Since then, the company has been the main private funder of the organisation. This year, a renewal has been signed for the next two years, until the end of 2023, to continue collaborating in the fight against cancer. As a main partner of the Association, and therefore one of the companies that contributes most to the fight against cancer in Spain, Iberdrola has been able to develop different actions and campaigns. The #JuntosContraElCáncer programme is a major financial contribution: nearly four million euros have been raised in joint actions and contributions with customers. Users can choose to donate 25 cents, 50 cents or 1 euro to the association. Iberdrola, for its part, contributes the same amount and thus the help is worth twice as much. There are nearly 70,000 participants registered in Juntos Contra el Cáncer (Together Against Cancer). The funds obtained by the Association over the next two years will go to the research project "Multidisciplinary dissection of the mechanisms of resistance to chemotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer: a step towards better clinical care", led by Dr. Ángel R. Nebreda, head of the Signalling and Cell Cycle laboratory at IRB Barcelona. This group will study the molecular mechanisms by which triple-negative breast cancer, the most aggressive breast cancer with the lowest survival rate, develops resistance to chemotherapy, with the aim of improving current treatments. Another of Iberdrola's initiatives is to be the main sponsor of three annual races - the most numerous in Spain - held in three Spanish cities each year: in Madrid on 27 March and in Valladolid and Murcia in the last quarter of the year. The electricity company reaffirms its social commitment through initiatives that improve the quality of life of the people who form part, not only of its organisation, but of society in general, as a sign of its contribution to sustainable development. READ MORE
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03/02/2022Iberdrola to reforest the villages in Spain most committed to sustainability Forest seeks village in which to grow. With this slogan, Iberdrola has launched a search for villages committed to sustainability and the environment to reforest them. The aim of the project is to promote the recovery of natural areas in empty Spain -through the conversion of burnt land or wasteland into forests-, the development of employment and the development of the region. Municipalities with less than 15,000 inhabitants are eligible to participate in this call. Their strategy and planning in sustainability, entrepreneurship and innovation will be assessed, with special attention to the promotion of renewable energies, the electrification of demand and the decarbonisation of their economic activity. Iberdrola will be responsible for the reforestation of the land through selective planting with drones and smart seeds, which will be implemented by CO2 Revolution. These plantations will always be carried out with native species, not just trees, to ensure that entire ecosystems that promote biodiversity are created. In addition, shrubs, aromatic and flowering plants from all strata of the vegetation layer are included in the planting. Municipalities interested in participating can consult the conditions and submit their applications on this website . Commitment to the environment With this initiative, Iberdrola contributes to the creation of new opportunities in rural areas and to promoting the offsetting of CO2 emissions. The project will enable the recovery of natural areas and their revitalisation, as the development of various forest environments will promote their recreational and tourist use and contribute to the fight against depopulation by generating local employment. Furthermore, reforestation is one of the best tools for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Not only as CO2 emission sinks, it also contributes to regulating the water regime, preventing soil erosion and conserving biodiversity . This initiative, called "Startup Village Pledge", is part of the Iberdrola - PERSEO international start-up programme, and has the support of the European Commission and its strategic plan "A long-term vision for the EU's rural areas" through the REInA platform (European Rural Innovation Area), which aims to attract investment, create jobs and generate projects in rural areas that ensure a better quality of life and services for the inhabitants of these areas. This platform, promoted by the University of Salamanca, is managed by Start-up Olé. A revolutionary system for planting 20 million trees As part of Iberdrola's commitment to the environment , the company has set itself the target of promoting the planting of 20 million trees during this decade, which will capture approximately 6 million tonnes of CO2 in 30 years. This CO absorption 2would be equivalent to neutralising the emissions of a car driving 116 times around the Earth. Thanks to the technology developed by CO2 Revolution, large areas can be reforested with high efficiency and respect for the environment. It combines state-of-the-art forestry biotechnology with robotics and the improvement of mechanised land-based methods used in the sector. To date, 2,500 hectares of land have already been reforested with this system, equivalent to avoiding the emission of 500,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. The company is also committed to the rural world as a fundamental lever for activity and economic recovery throughout the country. In the last two years, the company has promoted the installation of around twenty new wind and solar facilities in rural areas in eleven autonomous communities, with a combined capacity of 2,000 MW. In addition, the company has carried out other actions to highlight the importance of rural areas with projects that halt depopulation and add value to society, such as the series of meetings 'Pueblos que brillan' (Villages that shine), focused on highlighting the importance and benefits of these areas. READ MORE
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02/02/2022Europe's largest green hydrogen plant showcased at Dubai Expo on Spain Day Europe's largest green hydrogen plant for industrial use has attracted all the attention at the Dubai Expo on Spain Day. The project, developed by Iberdrola and located in the Spanish pavilion, was visited by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, who presided over the day. The plant is being finalised in Puertollano (Ciudad Real). With an investment of 150 million euros, the initiative will create up to 700 jobs and avoid emissions of 48,000 tCO2/year. The green hydrogen produced there will be used in Fertiberia's ammonia factory in the town. This will enable the manufacture of fertilisers without using fossil fuels or emitting carbon dioxide, helping to reduce the climate footprint of the agricultural sector. The Prime Minister reaffirmed Spain's firm commitment to clean energy, stressing the importance of allocating resources to transforming the energy system in order to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and escape price volatility, on the one hand, and to move towards full decarbonisation of the economy by 2050, on the other. The main objectives are to build an energy transition designed and manufactured in Spain and to increase the economic, innovation and employment opportunities of the associated industry in order to position Spain as a technological benchmark in clean energies. With respect to hydrogen, the goal is for Spain to contribute at least 10% of the 40 gigawatts of production expected to be achieved in the European Union. Spain plans to mobilise more than 16 billion euros to accelerate the green revolution, of which 1.5 billion euros will be allocated until 2023 to the development of green hydrogen in the country, given the great production potential of this energy vector. In its commitment to leading the energy transition, Iberdrola is spearheading the development of green hydrogen with more than 60 projects in eight countries (Spain, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and the United States, among others) to respond to the electrification and decarbonisation needs of sectors such as industry and heavy transport. The company has created a new green hydrogen business unit with which it aims to position itself as a world leader in this technology. The group is thus at the forefront of the new technological challenge of producing and supplying hydrogen from clean energy sources. Iberdrola has also started to produce green hydrogen in Barcelona’s Zona Franca, which will supply Barcelona's metropolitan buses and the trains of CAF following a recently signed alliance. Within Iberdrola's investment plan to 2030, which totals 150 billion euros, green hydrogen will be a major growth vector. Iberdrola is already developing several projects that will enable the decarbonisation of industry and heavy transport in Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as developing its value chain. The group currently has a green hydrogen portfolio that will require investments of more than 3 billion euros by 2030 for the production of 134,000 tonnes per year. The company has also submitted 54 projects to the Next Generation EU programme, which would trigger investments of 2.5 billion euros to achieve an annual production of 60,000 tonnes of green hydrogen. The World Expo is being held in the capital of the Emirates until 31 March 2022 and features pavilions from 192 countries, including the Spanish Pavilion for its striking bioclimatic architecture adapted to a desert environment. READ MORE
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02/02/2022Green hydrogen train will become a reality thanks to Iberdrola and CAF Iberdrola and the CAF (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles) group have formed an alliance to promote the use of green hydrogen in the railway sector and in passenger transport. The agreement was formed by Iosu Ibarbia, CAF's Director of Technology, and Millán García-Tola, the electricity company's Director of Green Hydrogen. This alliance stems from the conviction of both companies to offer comprehensive sustainable mobility solutions, ranging from the supply of rolling stock and refuelling infrastructure to green hydrogen production plants and renewable energy infrastructures. For Millán-García Tola, Iberdrola's Global Director of Green Hydrogen, "this alliance reinforces Iberdrola's commitment to the decarbonisation of transport that is difficult to electrify . Together with CAF, a leader in sustainable mobility, we want to continue to make solutions that accelerate the transition to emission-free transport a reality. Both companies complement each other perfectly, and together we can offer comprehensive complementary responses to the electrification of transport, a sector responsible for a third of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions". "CAF has been firmly committed for many years to the development of its own power electronics, energy storage and battery technologies, and more recently hydrogen. We believe that this collaboration agreement with Iberdrola reinforces this commitment and will make a significant contribution to meeting the decarbonisation objectives in the mobility sector", says Iosu Ibarbia, CAF Group Technology Director, on the agreement reached by both companies. The train will be greener than ever Currently, there are railway lines with sections that are difficult to electrify, where trains powered by fossil fuels are used. The aim of this alliance is to promote comprehensive solutions to replace these trains without the need to install catenary or make major modifications. The objective is also to develop the renewable hydrogen value chain with the highest standards of safety, technology and competitiveness in environments such as the railway sector and passenger transport, helping to drive local companies to develop the technology and production capacity to drive the transformation of the sector in Spain and compete in the international market. In April this year, tests are scheduled to begin on the new train developed by CAF at its Zaragoza plant as part of the FCH2RAIL project, which will be powered by green hydrogen supplied by Iberdrola from the latter's plant in Barcelona. This project, led by CAF, is already at an advanced stage in the design and manufacture of a hydrogen train prototype which, based on a RENFE Civia series commuter train, will install a new electricity generation system in this unit based on the hybridisation of energy from hydrogen cells and batteries, integrating in turn with the vehicle's existing traction system, and thus constituting one of the first railway demonstrators of a two-mode vehicle with a hydrogen cell. The hydrogen plant that will move transport in Barcelona Iberdrola, a leader in the development of green hydrogen, already has two operational production plants in Spain. The supply of green hydrogen for this demonstration project will come from Iberdrola's new plant in Barcelona, which came into operation at the beginning of 2022. This IBERDROLA-owned hydrogen plant is located in Barcelona's Zona Franca, close to the city's airport, and will supply green hydrogen to TMB buses from January 2022, making it the first commercial and renewable hydrogen plant in Spain. This plant is part of Iberdrola's Green Hydrogen strategy, which includes other projects such as the alliance with Fertiberia in Puertollano , as well as the recently announced Green Hydrogen Cluster Puerta de Europa in Andalusia, which includes more than 80 companies". READ MORE
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01/02/2022New call for Iberdrola Master's Scholarships for Spain, Mexico, Brazil and the United Kingdom Iberdrola today opens a new call for applications for its master's scholarships for the 2022-2023 academic year, with the aim of fostering excellence in the training of new generations and promoting young talent. In this new edition of the Iberdrola International Scholarship Programme, the company plans to award 47 grants to graduates and final-year university students in Spain, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Brazil. In total, there will be an investment of close to one million euros. Through this initiative, Iberdrola aims to promote the professional qualifications of young people in the field of energy, with a special focus on areas of knowledge such as engineering, renewable energies, information technologies, sustainability and big data. Applicants will be able to choose from around thirty top universities or technological institutes, such as the Universities of Cambridge, Strathclyde or Imperial College of London, in the UK; the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas or the Polytechnic Universities of Madrid, Valencia and the Basque Country, in Spain; the Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, the Universities of Anáhuac and Panamericana or La Salle, in Mexico; or the University of São Paulo, the Federal University of Pernambuco and the University of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil; the Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, the Universities of Anáhuac and Panamericana or La Salle, in Mexico; or the University of São Paulo, the Federal Universities of Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro or the State University of Campinas in Brazil, among others. The registration process for this new call for applications begins today and will remain open until 31 March, except in the case of Brazil, where the deadline will open in July to adapt to its school calendar. Those interested may consult all the conditions and fill in the application form in the Talent section of Iberdrola's corporate website . In addition to academic record and language proficiency, other factors such as curriculum vitae, interest in the study project and letters of reference will be taken into account in the selection of candidates. To date, nearly 1,000 young people have had the opportunity to further their professional careers by pursuing master's and postgraduate studies and carrying out research at prestigious international centres with the support of the Iberdrola group. Supporting a new generation with maximum capabilities The Iberdrola Scholarship Programme promotes a generation of professionals with the highest capacities to face the challenges of the future, including the development of a sustainable energy model. This initiative also promotes the employability of young people in a sector that will generate thousands of new jobs in the future, linked to the energy transition and digital transformation. Once they have completed their studies, participants in this call will have the opportunity to carry out internships in the company and to apply for vacancies published by the Iberdrola group related to their profile. In the last year, 36% of the 5,600 new hires made by the company corresponded to people under 30 years of age. The Iberdrola group currently has a workforce of some 6,500 professionals under 30 years of age, 100% of whom have permanent contracts. All of this reinforces the Iberdrola group's commitment to young talent. As part of Iberdrola's commitment to training young people, the company has also taken on more than 1,300 interns in 2021 who have had the opportunity to learn from the knowledge of a global energy leader. READ MORE
