Iberdrola, as part of its commitment to the decarbonisation of the economy, has achieved the latest milestone that will enable its partner SABIC to meet its sustainability and decarbonisation targets at the Cartagena industrial complex, in the Murcia region.

The company has obtained the relevant planning consent to begin construction of the largest solar photovoltaic (PV) plant for on-site self-consumption in Europe, following the signing of a long-term renewable energy purchase agreement (power purchase agreement, [PPA]) with SABIC, whereby Iberdrola commits to supply electricity from renewable sources for the next 25 years to SABIC’s industrial complex based in La Aljorra, Cartagena while avoiding the emission of 700 000 t of CO2 over the period.

The 100 MW PV plant, which will be located on land owned by SABIC, will require an investment of more than €60 million, and commissioning is expected for 2024. The facility will include more than 260 000 solar modules, which will increase Iberdrola's current renewable capacity in the Region of Murcia.

"This is a very important milestone for the development of a unique self-consumption facility from which to supply renewable energy in the long term. Thanks to this agreement, Iberdrola supports SABIC's commitment to sustainability and contributes to transforming the industry towards a cleaner and more sustainable energy model," said Raquel Blanco, Iberdrola's Director of Global Customers and PPA.

Blanco stressed that PPAs "have proven to be a great tool for customers to secure long-term, sustainable renewable energy while gaining greater certainty in the performance of our energy assets, thus contributing to the growth of renewable energy. And this is just the beginning as we continue to work together with SABIC to implement additional solutions to achieve full decarbonisation globally."

”SABIC is delighted to see the final permits granted to build the Cartagena solar plant, which will bring SABIC one step closer to having the world's first plant of this size operating 100% on renewable energy. This is an important milestone in SABIC's journey to transition all global operations to clean energy by 2050, while continuing on our roadmap to carbon neutrality", said Bob Maughon, EVP Sustainability, Technology, and Innovation, CTO and CSO of SABIC

The agreement reached between the two companies also reinforces Iberdrola's commitment to new partnerships through bilateral contracts that promote energy supply at competitive and stable prices with large customers committed to sustainable consumption.

Iberdrola and SABIC are also working together to define the best strategy to fully decarbonise their Cartagena plants from 2028 and are analysing possible collaborations in other regions.