Energy Central-News Article

Naturgy is investing in green in its commitment to renewable energies, which are becoming increasingly important in the energy mix. The latest move in this direction has been the acquisition of ASR Wind. It is the largest purchase to date, adding 25% to its business and allowing the multinational to incorporate another 12 wind farms (422 MW) already in service throughout the Iberian Peninsula: Castilla y León (5), Castilla La Mancha (3), Catalonia (2), Galicia (1) and Andalusia (1).

If we open the focus, the energy company has 5.5 GW of renewable power in operation and 195 more projects under development in Spain, Australia and the United States. And if we look at our territory, 88 projects are already in full operation in our country with clean energies and another 1,000 MW under construction - some thirty wind farms and photovoltaic plants - which will start up in 2024.

What does the purchase of ASR Wind entail? In addition to the 12 wind farms in operation, it involves two more lines of business. On the one hand, a pipeline of solar hybridizations of up to 435 MW, in an advanced stage of development - with locations, land and interconnection permits - that would be operational in 2025. On the other hand, the possibility of extending the useful life of the acquired farms, which is estimated at around 16 years.

The purchase of these assets from Ardian (ASR Wind) was not accidental. They are strategically located in areas with high wind potential where the same company already had solar or wind power facilities, so it intends to generate operational synergies.

"They are an excellent strategic fit, meeting our company's investment parameters and demonstrating that financial discipline and inorganic growth are compatible in order to create value," said Francisco Reynés, president of the multinational. "This is a growth opportunity that is fully aligned with our growth strategy in Spain through proven renewable generation technologies," adds Jorge Barredo, general manager of the company's Renewables, New Businesses and Innovation division.

How to decarbonize? More wind, sun and... batteries

In 2022, the energy company reduced its total emissions - direct and indirect - into the atmosphere by 24% compared to 2017. That is, almost a quarter of the total in five years "decoupling the increase in the financial result from the evolution of the carbon footprint," the company points out.

It has just obtained a favorable Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for another 18 wind and photovoltaic projects in Spain and is processing projects to add another 1,300 MW. Eight of them correspond to the wind sector in Galicia, but there is also a solar farm in Campo de Arañuelo (300 MW) in Extremadura, which will be the largest photovoltaic installation of the company in our country.

Outside Spain, Naturgy has more than 3,000 MW of renewable power in operation. One of the priority countries for renewable development is Australia, where the group aims to reach an installed capacity of 2,200 MW of wind, photovoltaic and storage technology by 2025. In this country, it has commissioned its first battery storage facility in the world.

Taking the baton from this pilot plant, the company began the process of developing eight hybrid battery storage projects connected to solar facilities, mainly in Carpio (Toledo), La Nava (Ciudad Real) and Tabernas (Almeria), plus a plant in Vigo that would be directly connected to the grid.

The planned investment amounts to 117 million euros. With this, they are going deeper into a segment that is yet to be exploited and that is key for the energy sector in the present and future, which involves optimizing battery systems with the capacity to store renewable energy to cover demand and weather peaks while guaranteeing the quality of supply, in line with the Energy Storage Strategy, published in 2021 by the Spanish Government.

Naturgy invests in green in its commitment to renewable energies, which are becoming increasingly important in the energy mix. The latest move in this direction was the acquisition of ASR Wind. It is the largest purchase to date, adding 25% to its business and allowing the multinational to incorporate another 12 wind farms (422 MW) already in service throughout the peninsular: Castilla y León (5), Castilla La Mancha (3), Catalonia (2), Galicia (1) and Andalusia (1).