Iberdrola, World Bank Eyeing Offshore Wind, Green Hydrogen Projects in Emerging Markets

January 8, 2024, by Adrijana Buljan

Iberdrola and the World Bank, through its private sector investment arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), have signed a EUR 300 million loan agreement to develop renewable energy projects in countries dependent on fossil fuels, including Morocco, Poland and Vietnam.

IFC has already allocated a first tranche of EUR 170 million for the support of onshore wind projects in Poland. Iberdrola and IFC are also evaluating collaboration options in the development of energy projects such as offshore wind and green hydrogen in additional emerging markets.

This loan follows two other green loans linked to sustainability objectives granted to Iberdrola, including one of USD 155 million in May 2023 and another of USD 115 million in July 2022, both granted to Iberdrola’s arm in Brazil, Neoenergia.

“This loan will allow Iberdrola to continue contributing to the energy transition, decarbonisation and electrification of developing countries, which are still highly dependent on fossil fuels. It also consolidates IFC as one of our major allies in the financing of renewable projects,” said José Sainz Armada, Iberdrola’s Director of Finance, Control and Corporate Development.

“This loan is a significant step in the global IFC-Iberdrola Energy Transition Partnership, which aims to support Iberdrola’s expansion and re-entry into emerging markets in need of decarbonizing their energy matrix,” said Alfonso García Mora, Vice President for Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean at IFC.

Iberdrola notes that the current loan is linked to ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) criteria and subject to the fulfilment of two strategic ESG objectives for Iberdrola.

The first goal is to reduce the company’s absolute direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60 per cent by 2030 from the 2020 baseline, including scopes 1, 2 and 3, from the company’s operations, customers and supply chains. The second objective is to more than double Iberdrola’s installed renewables capacity by 2030, which at the end of the third quarter of 2023 exceeded 41,000 MW.