GS Energy to create renewable JV with Spain’s Iberdrola

South Korea’s leading oil and gas company GS Energy Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of GS Holdings, and Spain’s largest utility company Iberdrola SA will set up a joint venture (JV) to run renewable energy projects together in Asia.

The two firms signed an MOU on June 16 at the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Madrid to set up the JV to implement solar power as well as onshore and offshore wind energy projects in Korea and other parts of Asia.

Present at the signing ceremony were GS Energy CEO Huh Yong-soo, Iberdrola’s Director of the Renewable Energy Business Xabier Viteri and South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Moon Sung-wook.

“To ensure a successful energy transition, we must learn from the global best practices in the renewable energy sector. This agreement will not only create synergies for the two firms but also offer long-term benefits to Spain and South Korea,” said GS Energy CEO.   

GS Energy expects to integrate its global project management capabilities with Iberdrola’s superior know-how on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of large-scale renewable energy projects.  

Iberdrola is the world’s second-largest generator of renewable electricity and Spain’s largest power company. The company in the global market currently has 35 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy production capacity, which will be ramped up massively to 60 GW by 2025.

GS Energy operates 300 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy projects and plans to increase the capacity to 1.2GW in the long run.

PRESIDENT MOON’S STATE VISIT TO SPAIN

The MOU between GS Energy and Iberdrola was signed during the South Korea-Spain Green and Digital Business Forum held on June 16.

The attendants at the forum included South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. President Moon is on a state visit to Spain for three days.

Moon delivered a keynote speech at the forum focusing on three areas where South Korea and Spain can strengthen their partnership: low-carbon economy, digital innovation and joint business efforts in third markets.

Moon specifically asked Korean and Spanish construction and infrastructure firms to bolster strategic partnerships in Asia as well as in Latin America.

Other industries that were emphasized for collaborative efforts were electric and hydrogen vehicles and the renewable energy sector in general.

“The green and the digital sectors have become the new global norm following the COVID-19. South Korea and Spain must join hands together to bring our partnership to the next level,” said President Moon.

Other notable investments made at the forum included Spain’s renewable energy firm Ocean Winds’ pledge to invest $100 million to develop an offshore wind farm in Incheon as well as EDP Renewables’ agreement to invest $100 million to build a solar power plant in South Jeolla Province of South Korea.  

Write to Kyung-min Kang and Do-won Lim at kkm1026@hankyung.com
Daniel Cho edited this article.