Spanish multinational electric utility company, Iberdrola has announced the acquisition of a 50 per cent stake in offshore wind company, Sea Wind. The two companies are set to jointly develop a project portfolio of 7.3 GW going forward. The move marks Iberdola’s entry into the Polish market and is expected to drive the company’s expansion. The move reflects Bilbao-based company’s strategy of geographical diversification in favorable markets such as A-credit-rated Poland. Further, the company aims to be one of the early movers in the global offshore wind market which is expected to grow significantly in the years to come.
Iberdrola said the deal was in line with its strategy to diversify into markets with favorable investment conditions. “The move also allows the company to position itself in the initial stage of development of the country’s offshore wind market, with great growth potential in the coming decades,” the company said in a statement. The deal is also expected to boost the development of offshore wind in the Polish Baltic region as the country aims to develop a capacity of 8 GW by 2030 and 10 GW by 2040.
Iberdrola and Sea Wind had previously worked on the 476 MW Baltic Eagle project off the German coast which is set to provide electricity for about 1 million households in the country. In June 2020, Iberdola signed a letter of intent with Enea for the development of 3.3 GW offshore wind projects in the Polish Baltic Sea. However, the two parties could not finalise terms and ended potential negotiations.
The two parties are confident that the agreement will develop sustainable strategies in Poland which could spur the fight against global warming. Sea Wind is a Liechtenstein-based renewable energy company that develops offshore wind projects in the Baltic sea in Germany and Poland. Iberdrola is the world leader in wind energy production and supplies electricity to about 100 million people across the globe.
REGlobal’s Views: The Polish government wants the country’s first wind farm to enter production in 2025 and to build up total offshore wind capacity of 10 GW by 2040. This is the right time for Iberdrola to enter the market and strengthen its grounds for capturing the upcoming opportunity
