Iberdrola unveils £3bn renewable energy plan for Scotland

Spanish energy giant Iberdrola — the parent company of ScottishPower — is planning a £3 billion investment in renewable energy projects in Scotland over the next two years, it was revealed today.

By Stefan Morkis
Published in the Courier : 13.09.10
Published online : 13.09.10 @ 10.26am

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First Minister Alex Salmond is at the company's new headquarters in Bilbao for the announcement.

Iberdrola chairman Ignacio Galan said the company intends to make a total investment in the UK worth €4.8 billion — two thirds of which is earmarked for Scotland.

The money will be used to develop wind farms, smart grids and carbon capture programmes.

Should the development contract be awarded to Iberdrola, Mr Galan said the programme would open up trade opportunities for Scottish and Basque firms worth an estimated €5.4 billion and will "reinforce his strong commitment to Scotland".

"In this way, Iberdrola will continue to act as a driving force behind development in Scotland and the Basque country, two significant regions that are very important to our company and where we have significant plans for the future," he said.

ScottishPower and Iberdrola merged three years ago and £2.7 billion has been invested in Scotland since then.

The firm's renewable energy division, ScottishPower Renewables, is now the country's leading wind power developer and generator in the country.

The Whitelee wind farm, just south of Glasgow, is the largest wind farm in Europe and its capacity will increase from 217MW to 539MW by 2012.

Iberdrola has also won through to the British Government's public tender process to develop a commercial carbon capture and storage programme at Longannet in Fife, where they are currently operating a CCS prototype.

Tayside and Fife are both hoping to cash in on the renewable energy boom, which could bring tens of thousands of jobs to the country in the turbine manufacturing and maintenance sectors.

Fife company Burntisland Fabrications (BiFab) has already won a £2 million contract from Norwegian tidal power developer Hammerfest Strom to construct the first of their advanced HS1000 tidal turbines in Scotland.