The Diplomat
Iberdrola has pledged to invest between 2 and 3 billion euros in Australia to boost the shift to renewable energy in the country, the company said yesterday.
The investments will be linked to new projects such as the Avonlie solar farm in south-west New South Wales, the Flyers Creek wind farm in central New South Wales and the Port Augusta renewable energy complex in South Australia, the largest hybrid wind-solar farm in the southern hemisphere.
The announcement was made as part of a trip to Australia by the company’s chairman, Ignacio Sánchez Galán, who will hold meetings with various energy policy leaders and visit several of the renewable projects that the company is carrying out in the region, reports Europa Press.
“With these investments, Australia is consolidating its position as one of Iberdrola’s key markets. The country’s abundant wind and solar resources, as well as the pace of technological development, place this region in a privileged position. We will lead and accelerate its transition to an economy with green energy at its epicentre, with the aim of increasing the amount of electricity generated with renewables, which now represents around a third of its generation,” said Galán.
Iberdrola’s chairman has already met with the Premier of the State of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, as well as the Minister for Energy, Environment, Climate Action and Solar Homes, Lilly D’Ambrosio, and also met with employees at the Melbourne office.
Iberdrola sees Australia as a growing market for renewable energy and highlights that the country is undergoing a “profound transformation” from a centralised generation system based on large fossil fuel facilities (coal and gas) to one of distributed generation, primarily wind and solar.
“In addition to the huge pipeline of renewable energy and storage projects, there is strong residential demand for solar and battery technology. The main levers to ensure continued strong growth in renewable capacity are the upgrading of the transmission and distribution grid and the reduction of the cost of storage technologies,” the energy company said.
Along these lines, the company also highlights that opportunities are emerging in Australia for the economy as the country “embraces new sectors” such as green hydrogen, ammonia and green materials, as well as opportunities for innovation in offshore wind and storage.
Iberdrola has been committed to the Australian energy market since 2020 with the acquisition of Infigen Energy, Australia’s leading renewable energy company.
In addition, in recent months it has acquired the rights to the world’s largest wind farm at Mount James, with 1,000 megawatts (MW), the 360-megawatt Broadsound photovoltaic power station, and invested in a smart solutions business, Autonomous Energy, which offers tailored energy products for commercial and industrial companies.
“With these investments, Iberdrola has a mature portfolio of more than two gigawatts of projects under development that will facilitate the consolidation of renewable energy as the main vector of the energy transition,” the company said.
To date, Iberdrola has installed 1,062 MW of renewables (wind, solar and batteries) in Australia and is building two new facilities with a combined capacity of 391 MW scheduled for commissioning in 2023.
