The Diplomat
Iberdrola has accelerated its commitment to green energy in Australia with the acquisition of the rights for a wind ‘mega-project’ with a capacity of up to 1 gigawatt (GW) and which stands as one of the key growth projects of the group in the renewable business in the country, reports Europa Press.
Specifically, the project is called ‘Mt James’ and is located 80 kilometres north of Hughenden. In a statement, Iberdrola’s Australian subsidiary said that this farm would play “a key role” in achieving the 50% renewable energy target by 2030 in the state of Queensland.
“The Mt James wind farm is now one of the key assets in Iberdrola Australia’s green energy growth strategy in Queensland,” the energy company said.
The group chaired by Ignacio Sánchez Galán submitted a development application for the site and is seeking Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation approval.
Iberdrola did not specify the amount of the deal, although the project was owned by local developer North Queensland Renewable Energy Zone.
However, when the project was unveiled two years ago, the Australian company said its development would involve an investment of around 2 billion Australian dollars (around 1.37 billion euros).
Iberdrola entered the Australian market in 2019, although it accelerated its presence in the country in 2020 with the acquisition of Infigen Energy (now Iberdrola Australia), a vertically integrated renewable energy company with almost 1,000 MW of installed capacity.
Since its arrival in Australia, the utility has invested in projects such as the Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park in South Australia, its first hybrid wind-solar plant in the world combining more than 200 MW of wind and more than 100 MW of photovoltaic capacity; the Avonlie solar project in New South Wales; the Wallgrove battery storage system, also in New South Wales; and the Flyers Creek wind farm.
These projects will add approximately 760 MW of renewable capacity to the Australian electricity system and will represent an investment commitment of more than A$1 billion (around 645 million euros).
Also at the end of last year, it completed the acquisition of Autonomous Energy, one of the country’s leading providers of smart solutions and behind-the-meter technology.
Prior to this latest acquisition, Iberdrola had a portfolio of more than two gigawatts (GW) of projects in Australia in various technologies, at different stages of development and located in the states of New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland.
