Iberdrola takes up 9GW Swedish offshore potential

Iberdrola has agreed an option to take the majority stakes in eight major offshore wind projects in Sweden as part of a €10 billion spending spree.

by James Agyepong-Parsons 23 June 2020

Sweden's largest operational wind farm is Vattenfall's 110MW Lillgrund project off Skåne county in the south of the country

The Spanish energy utility has taken over the projects from Svea Vind Offshore AB.

The eight potential projects off Sweden’s east coast are in various stages of development with none expected to be commissioned before 2029.

The most advanced is the 250MW Utposten I project, which is now in the closing stages of environmental permit planning.

The framework agreement with Svea Vind Offshore allows Iberdrola to take “majority acquisitions” in all eight projects, marking a fifth investment in renewables this year during the Covid-19 crisis. 

The agreement marks Iberdrola's entry into Swedish offshore wind.

Earlier this month, Iberdrola announced the launch of a friendly bid to acquire the Australian renewable energy company Infigen Energy for A$840.6 million. It also agreed to buy the French renewables firm Aalto Power for €100 million and take over the €2.4 billion 496MW Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm in France, shifting its stake from 70% to 100%.

Iberdrola is planning to commission over 4.5GW of new wind capacity this year.

Sweden has 191.3MW of operational offshore wind capacity, according to uXʘ Intelligence, the research and data division of uXʘ.