Iberdrola : is ramping up investment as part of its drive to support industry and local employment to pursue the green transformation in Asturias

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23/07/2020

The green economy as a major focus for industrialisation and employment in sunrise sectors in the region

Iberdrola is ramping up investment as part of its drive to support industry and local employment to pursue the green transformation in Asturias

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Iberdrola acelera inversiones en renovables en Asturias

• NI (2020-07-23) Iberdrola acelera inversiones_ apuesta industria y empleo en Asturias_EN [docx] 300.16 KB

• New orders have been placed with six companies: Windar will participate in the construction of the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm, the company's second major energy infrastructure investment in German waters · Tensa, Isotrón (Isastur Group), Gonvarri Solar Steel, Asturmadi Reneergy and Asturfeito have been chosen to take part in photovoltaic and hydroelectric projects in Spain, and in grid deployment and maintenance
• These contracts, added to the one entered into with Windar a month ago, are worth almost €200 million and quadruple the number of Asturian suppliers engaged by the company annually · In the last 18 months, contracts worth 300 million euros have been awarded to local companies, which will create thousands of jobs in the region
• Iberdrola is making massive investments in renewables, developing 130 MW of wind power in Asturias, and tripling the region's green generating capacity

Iberdrola is speeding up investments to develop the green economy, converting Asturias into an major hub for industry and jobs, driving new investments in renewable energies and more contracts for the local industrial community related to sunrise sectors.

For example, the company has just awarded contracts to six Asturian companies - Windar, Tensa, Isotrón (Isastur Group), Gonvarri Solar Steel, Asturmadi Reneergy and Asturfeito - to work on new renewable energy and power grid projects that the company will build in Spain and its international markets. The contracts were announced by Ángeles Santamaria, CEO of Iberdrola España, and Asís Canales, head of Procurement and Insurance at Iberdrola during a presentation on the subject entitled 'The Opportunities of the Energy Transition for Asturian Companies and Jobs', this morning in Avilés.

These contracts and the agreement signed a month ago with Windar entail orders for around 200 million euros, and multiply by four the average purchases from Asturian companies placed by the company every year. In the last 18 months, Iberdrola has awarded more contracts to local companies in a trend that has picked up speed and gained weight, now totalling 300 million euros.

The work done by these companies, which have been working with Iberdrola for years, will create thousands of jobs in the industry in Asturias.

Contribution to developing the industrial sector and local jobs in the sunrise sectors

Avila-based Windar will help to build 50 transition piece foundations for the Baltic Eagle wind farm, the company's second off-shore project in German waters, with an installed power of 476 MW, after the commissioning of the Wikinger plant.

The agreement will strengthen a collaboration that began more than six years ago and has entailed contracts worth more than 300 million euros, including work on the now complete Wikinger (Baltic Sea) and East Anglia One (United Kingdom) wind farms. A month ago, through its subsidiary Ailes Marines, Iberdrola awarded the largest contract in the history of the Navantia-Windar joint venture in the offshore wind sector for the construction of the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm, which the energy company is developing in the waters off French Brittany.

Tensa, in turn, will manufacture, assemble and lay the 220 kV cable for the second Ceclavin macro-photovoltaic solar project that Iberdrola plans to build in the province of Caceres. The company has carried out several projects for the energy sector in Castilla y León and Extremadura over the last four years. It has also just reached a two-year framework agreement for the deployment and maintenance of smart grids in Spain.

Isotrón (Isastur Group), which has worked on the company's renewable energy projects in Spain and Mexico, will also participate in the Ceclavín and four other photovoltaic projects in Spain, building the civil works and assembling the substations.

Gonvarri Solar Steel has been hired to manufacture and supply fixed structures and photovoltaic plants that Iberdrola plans to build in Extremadura, Murcia and Castilla-La Mancha.

Asturmadi Reneergy, on the other hand, will work on the Barcience photovoltaic solar project, that the energy company will install in the province of Toledo, supplying 5,000 units for fixed BPH-3PV solar structures that will support the almost 150,000 solar panels used in this project.

Asturfeito, a company that has already worked on other hydraulic projects with Iberdrola, has been selected to build wind turbine bearings for the Castro I Hydroelectric Power Plant, which is under construction in the waters of the River Duero, in Zamora.

New investments in renewables will triple the region's installed capacity

Iberdrola's commitment to establishing an energy model for the future in Asturias is complemented by the acceleration of investments in wind projects in the region.

The company is preparing to build four wind farms (Cordel-Vidural, Capiechamartín, Verdigueiro and Panondres), with a total of 130 megawatts (MW) of power, tripling the renewable capacity installed in the region to date. Investment in these projects amounts to more than 100 million euros and will create jobs for some 1,200 people, according to PNIEC* estimates.

The projects will help to boost local and national industry, since practically all the site and civil works will be carried out by Asturian companies and the wind turbines will be manufactured by Windar (Avilés) and on other Siemens Gamesa sites in Somozas (Galicia), Ágreda (Soria), Reinosa (Cantabria) and Lerma (Burgos).

More investment in sunrise technologies and promoting entrepreneurship

The transformation of the region will include other projects, including one related to the circular economy, through the recovery of waste by recycling ashes, slag and gypsum for transformation into new materials for the construction sector.

The actions will also be completed with more investments in the field of sustainable mobility, with new charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, and the analysis the company carries out on innovation projects related to new technologies, such as storage, green hydrogen production, etc.

Iberdrola's green recovery plan for Asturias also includes the launch of a Citizen Innovation Platform to channel entrepreneurial initiatives, encouraging innovation for the energy transition, which will accelerate collaboration processes between citizens, public bodies and companies.

The main objective of this initiative is to transform the area into a space for advanced experimentation that will encourage entrepreneurs and startups thinking about setting up in the region, by studying funding options for R&D+i initiatives from local suppliers.

Backing clean, sustainable and competitive technology

Iberdrola is the leader in renewable energies in Spain, with an installed wind capacity of more than 6,000 MW and over 16,600 MW in renewables as a whole. Worldwide, the total amounts to 32,700 MW, making its generation facilities among the cleanest in the energy sector.

Its commitment to a green recovery has led it to commit record investments this year of 10 billion euros in renewable energies, smart electrical networks and large-scale storage systems, after having allocated 25 billion euros since 2001 in Spain - rising to 100 billion euros worldwide - which have enabled the generation of 80,000* jobs in the country.

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About Iberdrola

Iberdrola is a global energy leader, the number one producer of wind power, and one of the world's biggest electricity utilities by market capitalisation. The group supplies energy to almost 100 million people in dozens of countries including Spain, the United Kingdom (ScottishPower), the United States (AVANGRID), Brazil (Neoenergia), Mexico, Germany, Portugal, Italy and France. With a workforce of more than 35,000 and assets in excess of €122 billion, it achieved a turnover of over €36.4 billion and a net profit of over €3.4 billion in 2019. Iberdrola is championing the transition towards a sustainable energy model through its investments in renewable energy, smart grids, large-scale energy storage and digital transformation, to offer the most advanced products and services to its customers. Firmly committed to clean energy, Iberdrola is one of the companies with the lowest emissions and an international benchmark for its contribution to sustainability and the fight against climate change.