Iberdrola, the parent company of ScottishPower, has outlined a £12 billion UK investment plan for 2024-2028.
Announced at the UK Global Investment Summit in London this week (27 November), the plan aims to support ScottishPower, a distribution network operator (DNO), bolster electricity networks and renewable projects.
Iberdrola, which boasts an operating portfolio of 41.3GW around the world, confirmed that around two-thirds of the investment would be allocated to transmission and electricity networks.
Several projects could be set to benefit from this, including the £2.7 billion Eastern Green Link 1 (EGL1) subsea transmission cable. The 2GW project, which has been dubbed a “subsea electricity superhighway” will connect East Lothian, Scotland, with County Durham, England. Planning consent was granted earlier this month.
Construction of EGL1 is scheduled to begin in early 2024.
A second project – Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2) – is being developed between Peterhead, Scotland, and Drax, England. This will consist of a 525kV, 2GW high voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea transmission cable.
Renewable generation projects are also set to receive financial support via Iberdrola’s investment. The company said it would invest in its 1.4GW East Anglia 3 offshore wind farm, as well as onshore wind, solar projects, energy retail and green hydrogen.
Iberdrola disclosed that these investments could be further increased with additional offshore wind opportunities, such as East Anglia 1 North and East Anglia 2, both of which ScottishPower has ready for upcoming auctions.
Ignacio Galán, chairman of Iberdrola, said: “Iberdrola is proud to play our part in supporting the UK’s leadership position on decarbonisation. Over the past 15 years, we have invested close to £30 billion in bringing the benefits of greener and more secure energy to the UK.
“Backed by clear regulatory and policy frameworks, we are as committed as ever to speeding up our investments in the UK’s electricity grid and renewables generation.”
