Spanish company Naturgy plans to invest almost €9bn in renewable energy over the next five years, out of total planned investments of €14bn.
The focus of the growth strategy will be “attractive countries with stable regulation and strong currencies”, as well as projects in early stages of development that contribute to the transition, the company said.
Naturgy wants to triple its installed renewable capacity from the current 4.6GW to 14GW internationally by 2025.
Over 5.2GW is planned to be added in Europe, followed by Australia with 2.2GW and other geographies such as the US and Chile.
On the whole, investment in renewables internationally and in Spain will average €1.73bn a year, increasing EBITDA in this business segment by more than 22% to €1bn by 2025.
Grids in Spain and Latin America will represent an investment for the period of over €4bn, 30% of the total.
The company estimates an EBITDA of €2.7bn for this business by the end of the period of the new Strategic Plan.
The company also aims to enhance the transition of the gas grids network in order to contribute to decarbonisation and commercial repositioning.
It estimates that more than one terrawatt-hour of renewable gas can be injected into Spain’s gas transmission system by 2025.
Currently, 95% of the gas pipelines of Naturgy’s distribution company are already adapted to renewable gas and hydrogen.
Furthermore, the company will continue working to review its supply contracts and explore alternatives that generate value for some of its activities, such as thermal generation in Spain and Latin America or the international LNG business.
Naturgy will also dedicate part of the investments to increase digitalisation and electrification.
Hydrogen, mobility, storage and distributed generation will be other focuses of investment in the coming years.
Naturgy executive chairman Francisco Reynes said: “We are all committed to meeting the main targets.
“We want to join in the transition and we believe that this plan is ambitious, but also realistic and executable.
“We must seize the opportunity to contribute to the transformation of the sector with drive and solvency.
“Spain is strategically well placed to tackle the transition with reasonable assurance, for which a stable regulatory framework is vital.
“We are ready for a new stage of transformation. Naturgy has demonstrated its ability to achieve results and create value in its businesses on a daily basis.
“Our position is to accelerate our transformation and anticipate the many challenges ahead of us as a society, industry and country.”