Iberdrola bags 800MW of UK projects, becomes one of the marketplace's greatest players with 9% of all solar

• Spanish energy business Iberdrola has actually bet huge on the UK market with the procurement on 17 solar PV projects from Elgin Energy and Lightsource bp, taking the company's share of UK solar from 2% to 9% and making it one of the greatest gamers in the marketplace.

The projects-- which go to the preconstruction phase-- have a combined capacity of greater than 800MW, with 519MW from Elgin Energy's 12 projects. In extra to the solar site, Iberdrola's UK subsidiary ScottishPower will certainly likewise gain a 70MW co-located energy storage project from Elgin through the bargain.

All the projects are anticipated to be operational by 2025, and also require a total financial investment of approximately ₤ 500 million (US$ 684 million).

The procurement will bring Iberdrola's share of solar in the UK from 2% to 9%, and verifies the firm's dedication to renewables in the nation, it specified.

Internationally, Iberdrola had virtually 3GW of installed PV as of September 2021, a boost of 89% on 2019. This consisted of 4MW of operational sites in the UK, along with 31GW of projects under growth in Spain, US, Mexico, UK, Portugal as well as Italy.

The business is preparing to increase its PV capacity to 6GW by the end of 2022, targeting 14GW by 2025.

" With the UK having actually built up a massive pipe of large-scale solar projects over the past couple of years, the consolidation today out there is controlled by pre-build turning of consented sites," said Solar Media's head of marketing research Finlay Colville.

" The announcement concerned from Iberdrola is lined up entirely with the clear mandate from worldwide energies and IPPs to develop multi-GW renewable portfolios over the next 5-10 years. This kind of task is happening in lots of countries globally as well as there will be many more deals such as this in the future. Obtaining sites from Elgin and Lightsource BP is just one of the lowest-risk paths right into the market today, since these firms have actually been 2 of the most effective, specialist and transparent entities associated with solar ranch growth in the UK over the past ten years," claimed Colville.

In April 2021, ScottishPower sent a planning application for up to 40MW of solar site, together with up to 50MW of battery storage space and also a 20MW electrolyser, as part of its continued construct out of possessions as a green incorporated utility. In June, construction also started on the business's solar ranch at the Carland Cross hybrid wind, PV and also energy storage site.

" Scottish Power itself has actually been an active participant in brand-new solar development and construction in the UK in the past 12-18 months, generally improving its track-record of wind farm possession and also operations," added Colville.

" Nevertheless, the investment now from parent Iberdrola moves Scottish Power's qualifications to an altogether different level, hugely speeding up the range of brand-new solar sites that could be included in its portfolio in the following 2-3 years."

Elgin Energy's sale of properties follows the designer selling its 14MW solar portfolio in the Republic Ireland to Greek commercial corporation Mytilineos. It has been especially active over the past year, raising ₤ 25 million and targeting 5GW in November 2021, along with authorizing a new financing handle German financial institution Berenberg to speed up utility-scale project release and also finishing a ₤ 4.35 million fundraise with Focus Capital Partners to sustain the growth of a 210MW portfolio of UK solar projects earlier that year.

"We are delighted to have actually reached this considerable turning point as well as partnered with Iberdrola/ Scottish Power Renewables on this portfolio. We will continue to develop and also supply on our 5GW project pipeline throughout the UK, Ireland and also Australia, working very closely with landowners, local authorities and all relevant stakeholders," claimed Ronan Kilduff, Chief Executive Officer of Elgin Energy.

Lightsource BP has actually similarly been broadening its portfolio of utility-scale assets substantially in recent times, consisting of introduction proposals for a 350MW site in North Anglesey, Wales.

The business heralded the return of large-scale solar build-out in the UK solar market at the end of 2019, announcing that it would certainly be going after a 1GW project pipe. Throughout last year it remained to advance its portfolio in the UK, consisting of acquiring planning permission for a 50MW solar farm near Castle Eden in Durham.

Generally the UK's utility-scale solar sector has grown significantly over the past year, driving the nation's solar pipeline as much as an incredible 37GW, according to brand-new study from Solar Media.

This article was originally published on PV Tech's sister site Solar Power Portal, the leading renewable resource source for all UK solar power and also feed-in tariff information, on 14 January 2022.