Green energy companies Iberdrola and Masdar have today (5 December) announced a €15 billion (£12.86 billion) strategic partnership to explore offshore wind and green hydrogen projects in the UK, US and Germany.
Signed at this year’s COP28, the two companies plan to co-invest in the 1.4GW East Anglia 3 offshore wind project. Onshore construction of the project started in July 2022 by ScottishPower, a subsidiary of Iberdrola, with commissioning scheduled for Q4 2026.
With negotiations still ongoing, Dubai-based Masdar could acquire a stake of up to 49% in the wind farm. A final agreement is hoped to have been signed by the end of Q1 2024.
It is worth noting that the two companies successfully co-invested in the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm in Germany. The 476MW project is located 30km to the northeast of Rügen island off the coast of Pomerania. Construction of the project started in 2022 with commissioning set to begin by the end of 2024.
Masdar acquired a 49% stake in the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm in July 2023 in a deal worth approximately €1.6 billion (£1.37 billion). This successful partnership will now see the companies eye opportunities in the UK and the US.
Previous coverage by Current± revealed that Iberdrola is to invest up £12 billion in the UK between 2024 and 2028. East Anglia 3 was referenced as one project that would receive support via this finance alongside the £2.7 billion 2GW Eastern Green Link 1 (EGL1) subsea transmission cable which will connect East Lothian, Scotland, with County Durham, England.
Although no plans for co-investment in the US were announced, Iberdrola confirmed that turbine installation was underway at 800MW Vineyard Wind 1, a project which it claims is the “first commercial scale offshore wind farm in the country”. First power generation is anticipated for the “near future”, the company revealed.
No concrete co-investment plans were revealed for green hydrogen either but participation in this could be done via Iberdrola’s subsidiaries in the future, the companies noted.
Iberdrola’s executive chairman, Ignacio Galán, said: “Now that 118 governments have already pledged to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 at COP28, reaching this goal will require immediate action from these governments and the private sector. Following our long-term commitment to renewables, networks, and storage, this innovative alliance with Masdar today shows once again our determination to continue delivering.
“By combining our renewables experience and financial strength with those of Masdar, we can deliver more secure, competitive and clean energy, quicker. We are very pleased to be expanding our existing alliance with a leading long-term partner like Masdar from Germany, where we are already constructing new offshore wind turbines, to the UK and across the world.”