Iberdrola’s Executive Chairman, Ignacio Galán, has visited the facilities of Astilleros Ría de Vigo, part of the Armon Group, to see Bibby Marine’s electric vessel project at first hand. This is the electric power storage vessel (eCSOV) used for commissioning electricity projects with the world’s largest battery storage capacity, at over 24MWh.
During the visit, Ignacio Galán was accompanied by senior executives from Astilleros Ría de Vigo, as well as representatives from Bibby Marine – which has previously been involved in Iberdrola’s offshore wind projects – and Manuel Moreu, chairman of Seaplace, the company responsible for designing the new vessel.
Maritime transport is one of the key elements in the offshore wind technology value chain, in which Iberdrola has operational projects in the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and France, representing a total investment of €13 billion and 3,200MW of installed capacity.
Iberdrola is currently constructing the East Anglia 2 and 3 projects in the United Kingdom and the Windanker project in Germany, with a total capacity of 2,700MW, which will represent an additional investment of around €10 billion. In addition, the company has the East Anglia 1 North project, with a capacity of around 900MW, which has secured all the necessary permits and is ready to be submitted for the forthcoming auctions in the United Kingdom, as well as a portfolio of projects under development in the countries mentioned and in others such as Australia.
Ignacio Galán highlighted the importance of initiatives such as Astilleros Ría de Vigo’s, which enable the benefits of electrification to be extended to the shipbuilding sector – a key sector for industrial development and one of the most important in the offshore wind supply chain.
Furthermore, Galán reiterated Iberdrola’s commitment to the electrification of the economy as a key driver for improving competitiveness, strengthening energy self-sufficiency and accelerating decarbonisation targets.