The acquisition enables Iberdrola to position itself in the early development stage of Japan's offshore wind market
Iberdrola chairman and CEO Ignacio Galán at the West of Duddon Sands offshore wind farm. (Credit: Iberdrola, S.A.)
Spanish energy giant Iberdrola has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% stake in Japanese renewable energy developer Acacia Renewables from Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG).
The acquisition will help Iberdrola to expand its presence in Japan, where Acacia is currently developing two offshore wind farms.
The projects with their combined capacity of 1.2GW are expected to be operational by 2028. There are four other projects in its portfolio totalling 2.1GW in capacity.
Iberdrola stated that it will hold equal share in the six projects alongside GIG and will develop the portfolio.
Acacia Renewables acquisition enables Iberdrola to access a diversified pipeline of projects
The transaction is in line with Iberdrola’s strategy, allowing it to position itself as an early player in Japan’s offshore wind market, with a strong potential for growth in the coming years.
The company also expects that the deal can give it access to a diversified pipeline of projects, located at different areas in the country.
Iberdrola already has a presence in offshore wind sector through its projects such as Wikinger, Baltic Eagle in the Baltic Sea, East Anglia ONE in the North Sea, West of Duddon Sands in the Irish Sea, Vineyard Wind along the Massachusetts coast and Saint Brieuc along the French coast.
The Spanish company operates in offshore wind farms in countries such as the UK and Germany and is now working on new developments in the UK, the US, Germany and France, with 15GW in pipeline.
The acquisition of Acacia is the latest for Iberdrola, which had recently acquired Aalto Power, a French renewables company, acquired Infigen in Australia and has agreed to develop 165MW of onshore wind in Scotland.