Iberdrola is committed to investing up to €4bn in the French renewable energy market.
France is a “strategic country” for Iberdrola said chairman and chief executive Ignacio Galan (pictured) at the Choose France virtual summit hosted by French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.
Galan said: “Iberdrola plans to invest between €3-4bn over the next four years to continue growing in the renewable energy industry.”
He said the company is “very interested” in participating in new offshore wind capacity auctions to be held by France.
Investments will also span onshore wind as well as solar, Galan said.
“We are already investing €2.4bn in the development of the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm and we have onshore wind projects already in operation and under development,” Galan added.
Every year Iberdrola procures €1bn on average from French companies, while the installation of Saint-Brieuc project will lead to the creation of more than 1000 new jobs.
Galan said: “The energy transition must be an engine for growth and employment for France and the world.”
Galan said France’s multi-annual energy programme (PPE) for planning will lead to a “very significant” reduction in emissions and pollution, will create jobs, allow progress to be made in energy independence, generate a “new industry of the future capable of innovating and exporting” and will achieve “more competitive” energy prices.
To boost the process of decarbonising the economy through electrification, he said “clear and attractive” regulation is needed, as well as “speeding up the permitting process”.
Galan was the only representative of Spanish businesses at the global energy sector at Choose France, organised by the French government to boost investment in the green recovery.
The event was also attended by Eriksson CEO Borje Ekholm, Ab Invev CEO Carlos Brito, Daimler Group president Ola Kallenius and Solvay CEO Ilham Kadri, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon.