Power giant's £3bn committment to Scottish business

First Minister Alex Salmond has today welcomed an announcement by Spanish power giant and ScottishPower owner Iberdrola that it will be investing £3bn by way of spend in Scottish businesses over the next two years.

Since 2007, Iberdrola has invested £2.7bn in UK businesses, a substantial part of this in Scotland.

Over the next two years, Iberdrola expects companies from various fields, such as the legal profession, construction companies and contractors, to be among those who will benefit from the increased contract awards and spend. Iberdrola retains more than 1,800 suppliers in Scotland, including Scottish Coal, renewables development company Pelamis, and Mott MacDonald, the management, engineering and development company.

The First Minister said: "Scotland is hugely significant within Iberdola's plans for the future and the commitment the company has shown to our country is immensely important.

"As well as the significant contribution to the economy through contracts, the wider Iberdrola Group has recently located the UK arm of its engineering and construction business (IEC) in Lanarkshire creating 150 jobs and taken the decision to locate the base for the global offshore renewables business in Glasgow.

"The company also signed a £700 million contract with Scottish Coal, the single largest coal contract in Scottish history.

"But it is in the field of renewables where we feel we can further strengthen our relationship. With unrivalled energy resources off our coast and a range of wave, tidal and offshore wind development already underway, Scotland leads the way in generating power offshore.

"We have an estimated 25 per cent of Europe's offshore wind and tidal resource and 10 per cent of its wave potential, a renewable energy resource which is unrivalled in Europe and together no doubt we will see significant progress and groundbreaking achievements in low carbon energy generation and innovation.

"Only last year, ScottishPower Renewables officially opened Whitelee, Europe's largest onshore windfarm, and we continue to watch with interest as the company develops world-leading plans for Carbon Capture and Storage technology at Longannet power station in Fife. These developments will all play a part in spearheading a whole new industry that could support tens of thousands of jobs and further spur on the renewables revolution."

The First Minister discussed Iberdrola's plans for investment in Scotland during a visit to Bilbao to further strengthen economic links with the Basque Country.

Senor Ignacio Galan, chairman of Iberdrola, said: "In the coming years, Iberdrola will intensify its firm commitment to Scotland. We plan to make investments in the United Kingdom of £4,000 million in the 2010-2012 period, two-thirds of which will go to Scotland."

He added: "In the future, we want to see many more Basque companies going down the same road, setting up new business relationships, promoting the transfer of knowledge and technology and ultimately, creating new business opportunities. This will mean that Iberdola will continue to be a catalyst for development in Scotland and the Basque Country, two lands of great importance for our company and for which we have major plans in the future."

Anne MacColl, Interim Chief Executive of Scottish Development International, said: "Exceptional energy innovation and a supportive business environment combined with unrivalled human and natural resources in offshore, wave and tidal energy makes Scotland a world-leading location for companies operating in the renewables sector.

"This latest news from Iberdrola is a ringing endorsement of Scotland strengths in the sector and we look forward to continuing our work with the company."

In June, Sr Galan became the latest high profile member of the GlobalScot network thanks to his continuing commitment to bringing inward investment into Scotland, supporting the growth of the Scottish renewables industry and building on existing trade links between Scotland and Spain."

Welcoming him to the network, the First Minister said: "The commitment of Sr Galan to Scotland is highly valued and it is only fitting that this is recognised by Scotland in this way."


To read more of the First Minister's trip to the Basque region click here.