European energy giant Iberdrola is poised to further strengthen its renewables portfolio with the €100m acquisition of leading French developer Aalto Power. The Spain-based utility announced that it has closed a deal to acquire Aalto Power from its owner, Aiolos and Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations. The transaction is now subject to standard closing conditions, including authorisation from the French Ministry of Economy.
The deal would see Iberdrola take control of Aalto Power’s 118MW of onshore wind capacity, as well as its pipeline of 636MW of new onshore wind projects. The move is the latest step in Iberdrola’s plans to invest €10bn this year and secure one million customers in the French retail market by 2023. It also follows its recent acquisition of 100 per cent of the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm in France, which will see a total investment of approximately €2.5bn. The 496MW offshore wind project will begin construction in 2021, come into operation in 2023, and will generate enough clean energy to satisfy the electricity demands of some 835,000 people, Iberdrola said.
The company said it would “continue to look for further growth opportunities in the French renewable energy sector in the coming months”. The move comes a day after Iberdrola was one of a raft of signatories to a statement from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) making the case for wind energy projects to provide a key plank to national economic recovery plans.
Source: Business Green
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