Norway Pension Giant Buys 49% Stake in Spanish Renewables Portfolio

Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages Norway’s $1.4 trillion Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, has acquired a 49% stake in a nearly 1.3 gigawatt portfolio of solar plants and onshore wind farms in Spain operated and co-owned by renewable energy firm Iberdrola.

The sovereign wealth fund’s manager will pay 600 million euros ($650.6 million) for the stake, which values the total portfolio at approximately 1.2 billion euros. Iberdrola, which maintains a 51% majority, will continue to control and manage the assets, also providing operations and maintenance services, as well as other corporate services.

The portfolio is made up of seven solar plant projects and five onshore wind projects that have an installed capacity of 1,265 megawatts. Solar plants account for 80% of the portfolio, while onshore wind makes up the other 20%. Nine of the projects are currently being developed and are expected to be completed between 2023 and 2025. Norges Bank Investment Management will assume ownership of the projects once they become operational.

Of the 1.265 GW total capacity, 137 MW are currently operational in the Castilla-La Mancha and Aragón regions of Spain. The rest of the projects that are still being developed are in Andalusia (358 MW), Extremadura (343 MW), Aragón (175 MW), Castilla y León (102 MW), Madrid (55 MW), Murcia (50 MW) and Castilla-La Mancha (45 MW). Iberdrola announced the portfolio will have the capacity to supply electricity to more than 700,000 homes each year.

NBIM, which is the world’s largest investor in global equities and has stakes in more than 9,000 companies, owns more than 3% of Iberdrola. Iberdrola said its partnership with the Norwegian firm could be extended to additional renewable energy opportunities in other markets.