Iberdrola, Norges Bank close giga-deal for solar, wind in Spain

May 31 (Renewables Now) - Spanish utility Iberdrola SA (BME:IBE) said on Wednesday that it has finalised the agreement with Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) to sell it a minority stake in a 1,265-MW wind and solar portfolio in Spain and added more than 500 MW of renewables to the negotiations.

As announced in January this year, NBIM agreed to acquire from Iberdrola a 49% stake in project vehicles holding the assets in a transaction that valued the entire portfolio at EUR 1.2 billion (USD 1.28m).

In a bourse filing on Wednesday, Iberdrola said the deal closed under the terms previously reported to the market. This means that the utility will have a 51% stake in the portfolio and retain control and management of the assets, provide operation and maintenance and other corporate services.

The package contains 137 MW of operational power plants and 1,128 MW of projects in development in various regions of Spain. Of the total capacity, 20% is wind and 80% is solar photovoltaic.

For NBIM, the manager of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund and a shareholder of Iberdrola, the deal will mark its first direct investment in renewables in Spain.

The original agreement also included the possibility of taking the partnership to other countries in the future, a term that remained in place. Iberdrola said that the companies are now working on adding over 500 MW of renewable energy assets in the Iberian Peninsula to their alliance.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.068)