Iberdrola has finalised details of its strategic alliance with the sovereign fund of Norway, managed by Norges Bank Investment Management, to co-invest in 1265MW of new renewables capacity in Spain. This will comprise 20% wind and 80% solar.
Both companies have informed the National Securities Market Commission that they have obtained all the legal requirements to carry out the partnership. The strategic alliance is designed to accelerate decarbonization in Spain and could be extended in other countries in the future. Iberdrola will have a majority stake of 51% in the assets.
According to the terms of the agreement, the valuation of 100% of this portfolio amounts to about €1.2bn. Iberdrola will control and manage the assets, providing operation and maintenance services and other corporate services. However, both companies are already working on expanding the partnership by more than 500 additional renewable MW in the Iberian Peninsula.
Of the 1,265MW, 137MW are operational in Castilla-La Mancha and Aragon (pictured), with the rest of the projects under development. These sites are in Andalusia (358MW), Extremadura (343MW), Aragon (175MW), Castilla y León (102MW), Madrid (55MW), Murcia (50MW) and Castilla La Mancha (45MW). This portfolio will have the capacity to meet the equivalent electricity demands of more than 700,000 homes each year.
Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, has approximately €1.4tn of assets under management and stakes in more than 9,000 companies. It owns on average 1.4% of all listed companies in the world and 2.5% of all listed companies in Europe.
Norges Bank Investment Management is also one of the main shareholders of Iberdrola, with a stake of more than 3% for more than seven years. As a result of this relationship, it has decided to make its first direct investment in renewable assets in Spain with Iberdrola, the largest European electricity company by capitalization.
The alliance brings together two preferred partners in an agreement that could be extended to additional renewable opportunities in other geographies.