Iberdrola signs land lease agreement for Baltic Eagle operations building

Iberdrola and the port of Sassnitz (Fährhafen Sassnitz GmbH) have signed the lease agreement for a new operation and maintenance building to handle Baltic Eagle at a ceremony chaired by the Prime Minister of the state of MecklenburgWestern Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig, thus delivering another important milestone in the offshore wind farm construction schedule.

During the event, Iris Stempfle, Managing Director of Iberdrola Renovables Deutschland GmbH, announced that, on 1st September, the company will submit a bid for the construction of "Windanker", a new offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea. The plan is to expand the Baltic Hub (currently, 350-MW Wikinger in operation since 2017 and 476-MW Baltic Eagle under construction) to more than 1 GW by 2026.

"As a global leader in the generation of wind energy, we are also taking responsibility for shaping the German energy transition in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. With today's step and our participation in the auction for the construction of the Windanker offshore wind farm, we are committed to regional value creation and to our expansion target of 1.1 GW by 2026," highlighted Iris Stempfle.

In order for this to succeed smoothly, Stempfle noted, the next state government will have to designate more areas for the expansion of renewable energies at sea and on land and simplify planning procedures. The market design would also have to change in cooperation with the industry in order to ensure reliable energy prices for the end consumer and stable framework conditions for companies by reducing risks.

Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig said: “We in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern want the energy transition in Germany to succeed. To achieve this, we need more wind farms at sea that produce large amounts of electricity. Iberdrola is already present off our coast with the Wikinger wind farm. In the next few years, a second large project will be added with Baltic Eagle. I am very pleased that planning, operation and maintenance will again be carried out via the port of Mukran. This creates jobs on the island of Rügen and is an important contribution to the energy transition in Germany."

Green investments to promote economic recovery

Iberdrola believes that the energy transition can act as a key driving force in the transformation of industry, a green economic recovery and job creation.

With this focus Iberdrola has launched a major €75 billion investment plan for the 2020-2025 period, with the aim of doubling its renewable capacity and taking advantage of the opportunities created by the energy revolution in the world's major economies. After twenty years driving the energy transition, with investments of over €120 billion, Iberdrola is a leader in renewable energy, with an installed capacity of more than 33 GW, making its generation fleet one of the cleanest in the energy industry.

With CO2/kWh emissions already two thirds lower than the European average, the investment strategy in clean energy and networks will lead Iberdrola to become carbon neutral in Europe by 2030.