Iberdrola gets access to 7.3-GW offshore wind pipeline in Poland

Spanish utility Iberdrola SA (BME:IBE) has agreed to take a 50% interest in an offshore wind project developer with a Polish pipeline of 7.3 GW.

Iberdrola said on Friday it will acquire half of Sea Wind’s shares in a deal that will mark its foray into the Polish offshore wind market and potentially help it create an offshore wind hub in the Baltic Sea to manage its projects in Germany, Poland and Sweden.

Sea Wind has a pipeline of seven projects in the early development stages, which will add up to 7.3 GW of offshore wind capacity. According to Iberdrola, its alliance with the company is “open to the incorporation of Polish partners in the future.”

The Spanish utility explained that the acquisition will enable it to take part in the initial development stages of Poland’s offshore wind market, which offers “significant growth potential” in the coming decades. Additionally, it will thus diversify its operations in geographical terms and further grow its offshore wind project pipeline from the current 20.2 GW.

In September, Iberdrola and Polish peer Enea SA (WSE:ENA) cancelled their plans for an offshore wind joint venture that was gearing to deploy up to 3.3 GW of capacity in the Polish Exclusive Economic Zone of the Baltic Sea.

Poland plans to deploy up to 8 GW of offshore wind turbines by 2030. The Baltic Sea has an estimated offshore wind power potential of 93 GW, of which 28 GW is in Polish waters.

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