ScottishPower Signs Two Deals to Buy 17 PV Projects in the UK

Iberdrola, through its British subsidiary ScottishPower, has signed two deals to acquire 17 solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in the UK, with a combined capacity of more than 800 MW.

The contracts have been concluded separately with Elgin Energy, which owns 12 projects, and Lightsource BP, which controls the rest. Both companies are experienced developers with a long track record in renewable energy.

The projects, across England, Scotland and Wales, are in advanced stages of development and will be operational by 2025 with a total investment of approximately £500 million (around €600 million).

This portfolio of solar sites will add enough clean energy to power over 220,000 homes.

Iberdrola now moves to the forefront of the UK’s solar industry, with its market share rising from 2% to 9%.

The deals confirm the company’s commitment to growing the renewables market across the UK, where ScottishPower is the only 100% green integrated utility. They will also contribute towards reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland in 2045 and in the United Kingdom by 2050.  

As of September 2021, Iberdrola has almost 3 GW of installed PV worldwide, an increase of 89% compared to 2019. Of this capacity, 2,028 MW are in Spain, 642 MW in Mexico, 191 MW in the US, 4 MW in the UK and 31 MW in other countries.

It also has 31 GW of solar projects under development in Spain, US, Mexico, UK, Portugal and Italy. The company's investment plan for 2020-2025 sets to double its current PV capacity to 6 GW by the end of 2022, and to have 14 GW installed by 2025.

With these two deals, the company chaired by Ignacio Galán has managed to close 30 corporate transactions since the beginning of 2020, including 17 acquisitions which have enabled entrance to new markets such as Sweden, Ireland, Poland, Japan and Australia.