Scottish Power outlines new £10bn investment in green energy
5 November 2020, 17:54
The company said it will double its renewable generation capacity as part of a worldwide drive by its owner Iberdrola.
Scottish Power is planning to invest another £10 billion into the UK’s green recovery over the next five years, it has revealed.
It comes weeks after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced big ambitions to power all UK homes with offshore wind.
The company said on Thursday that it will nearly double its renewable generation capacity, adding a further 2.4 gigawatts (GW) by the middle of the decade.
It is part of a larger plan by Scottish Power’s Spanish parent company Iberdrola to pour 75 billion euros (£67.2 billion) into renewables around the world.
The company’s plans will mean new solar, wind and battery infrastructure, and thousands of new jobs spread across the UK, chief executive Keith Anderson said.
“This is a huge, big wave of investment to help drive forward decarbonisation in each of the countries we operate in,” he told the PA news agency.
“We’re all talking in the UK about a green recovery and our view is that it is companies like us that are going to be at the forefront of creating a green recovery, of accelerating the road to net-zero and create jobs and apprenticeship opportunities.”
Last month, Mr Johnson promised all of the UK’s 30 million homes will be powered by offshore wind by the end of this decade.
The UK has a goal of reducing its emissions to net-zero by the middle of the century.
The green ambitions will need several more billions of pounds invested into the UK’s green plans.
“Statements and announcements from the Prime Minister become so important because that’s what sets the ambition and drags companies in and makes this look attractive,” Mr Anderson said.
“One of the best examples of this is that you now see oil and gas companies, companies like Shell saying ‘hang on a minute, we want to come and join the party’.”
