IBERDROLA CHAIRMAN IGNACIO GALÁN AWARDED HONORARY DEGREE BY UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
The Iberdrola Chairman says Scotland can count on the support of the entire Group to achieve its ambitious energy goals
- The degree, conferred by University Vice-Chancellor Timothy O’Shea, reflects Galan’s contribution to the development of renewable energy
The Chairman of IBERDROLA, Ignacio Galán, was today awarded a Degree of Honoris Causa by the University of Edinburgh in a ceremony held at the University’s McEwan Hall in the Scottish capital.
The degree, which reflects the IBERDROLA Chairman’s contribution to the development of renewable energy, was conferred on Galán by Edinburgh University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Timothy O’Shea.
Ignacio Galán said. “It is a great honour for me to receive the degree of Honoris Causa from the University of Edinburgh.” He added that: “It also gives me great satisfaction that this degree is related to renewable energies”,
“Scotland has an enormous potential in renewable energy and can become a worldwide leader in this field. To reach this ambitious aim, this land can count on all the Iberdrola Group and the particular support of ScottishPower, which is already the leader in wind energy in the United Kingdom.”
Earlier, Professor Martin Siegert, in the name of the Senatus Academicus, presented Ignacio Galán for the Honorary Degree by describing him as “the driving force behind his Company’s emergence as one of the World’s major providers of, and investors in, clean and renewable energy.”
He said society faces a major challenge in reconciling increased demand for energy with the greenhouse gases that this causes. “For our society to answer this question two things are first needed above all; they are vision and leadership. Señor Galán’s contribution in these areas is remarkable.”
Collaboration with universities
IBERDROLA and ScottishPower are working extensively with universities across the UK to help further technological progress, especially in the fields of renewable energy and emissions reduction, where ScottishPower Renewables is the largest wind producer in the UK with over 1GW in installed capacity.
This academic cooperation is focused on numerous programmes to promote R+D+i, train high-potential professionals and facilitate gradúate employment.
ScottishPower has established important programmes for collaboration with Edinburgh University, including a CCS chair within the faculty of Geosciencies, as part of an alliance between this university, Heriot-Watt University and the British Geological Survey.
The Scottish subsidiary of IBERDROLA is leading technological advances in carbon capture, at its Longannet power plant, and is the sole remaining candidate in a British government competition to select the tecnology to be applied in reducing CO₂ emissions from coal-fired power stations.
ScottishPower also participates in an academic partnership with Edinburgh University and Imperial College London to study the technological and regulatory aspects of carbon capture. The Company has also created a chair in smart grid technology at the University of Strathclye and has launched a Global Energy MBA at Warwick Business School at the University of Warwick.
At the same time, the IBERDROLA Foundation has begun a one-year scholarship programme for students in the UK who are following research projects in the fields of renewable energy, environment and biodiversity, clean coal technologies, emissions management, energy efficiency, electric vehicles and smart grids.