Iberdrola Denies Cutting UK Windfarm Investment

Iberdrola Renovables SA (Bilbao, Spain), the world's largest wind-power generator, has denied media reports that the company plans to cut investment in UK wind power projects by up to 40 percent.

Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, TX) states that The Times newspaper reported that the 40 percent cut in investment would amount to a loss of more than $425 million and could seriously harm the UK's efforts to become a world leader in renewable energy. The paper cited Xabier Viteri Solaun, CEO of Iberdrola, who allegedly blamed the current economic crisis and regulatory problems in the UK for the company's decision.

However, Iberdrola, which owns Scottish Power plc (Glasgow, Scotland), has flatly denied the reports. Speaking to Industrial Info, a spokesman for the company said it has no plans to reduce investment for the UK projects in which the company is already involved. "This is not the case," said the spokesman. "All of our investments are being maintained. As far as the UK is concerned, nothing is being cancelled. We are in the middle of a global crisis so we do have to assess all of our investments, and there are a number of factors that have to be taken into account during the process."

Iberdrola might not be reducing its investment, but this is the second time in recent weeks that senior Iberdrola executives have complained about the regulatory system in the UK. Speaking in Bilbao, Iberdrola's chairman Ignacio Galan hinted that the company might shift UK investment to other countries unless the UK regulator raised the rate of returns to a level more attractive to prospective investors in the energy sector.

The spokesperson denied claims that the company had any plans to shift investment money away from the UK. "Planning decisions can be quite slow in the UK and guaranteed access to the grid has to be in place before we can go ahead with any project. It's just right and proper to be cautious, but the UK is a priority market for us, and we are going ahead with all of our projects," he said.

"In a few months we will have completed the 320-megawatt wind farm at Whitelee Forest in the UK, making it Europe's largest wind farm," he added. Whitelee Forest is located about ten miles south of Glasgow. "We have also put in for planning to add another 130 megawatts. If that's successful we intend to submit planning for another 160 megawatts, which will make Whitelee Forest by far the biggest wind farm in Europe."