Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the manager of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, is expanding its clean energy alliance with Iberdrola by acquiring a 49% interest in a €627m portfolio of solar plants and onshore wind farms located in Spain and Portugal.
The manager of the NOK16trn (€1.4trn) Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global said it has agreed to pay €307m for its stake in the portfolio in a deal that requires no external debt financing.
Spanish multinational electric utility company Iberdrola will remain co-owner and operator of the portfolio.
The portfolio comprises two solar plant projects and two onshore wind projects with an installed capacity of 674MW. Solar plants make up 60% of the portfolio, while onshore wind accounts for the remaining 40%.
All four projects are currently under development and are expected to be completed in 2025-2026. Norges Bank Investment Management will take ownership of these when they become operational.
A year ago, NBIM bought nearly half of a solar and onshore wind power portfolio in a joint venture with Iberdrola for €600m. At the time, NBIM agreed to acquire a 49% interest in a 1.3GW portfolio of solar plants and onshore wind farms located in Spain.
Following the latest deal, NBIM’s CEO Nicolai Tangen, said: “We are really pleased to announce this new important deal with our great partner Iberdrola. It expands our footprint in Spain and is also our first step into Portugal. We look forward to adding more attractive renewable infrastructure projects going forward.”
Mie Holstad, chief real assets officer at NBIM, said: “The investment aligns with our long-term strategy, and we are very pleased to strengthen our partnership with Iberdrola. We look forward to working with them on these projects.”
The executive chairman of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, said: “Today we have expanded our clean energy alliance to advance the development of renewables in the Iberian Peninsula in a faster, more consolidated and competitive way.
”Innovative agreements like this allow us to combine our knowledge in clean energy and our financial strength with those of Norges Bank Investment Management, a truly progressive partner, building on our alliance that has been growing for many years.”
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