Iberdrola staying in Portland with help from $1.1M PDC grant

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Iberdrola is committing to Portland with a 10-year lease on their Brewery Blocks offices.

Iberdrola Renewables, the nation’s second-largest wind energy developer, on Thursday said it will keep its U.S. headquarters in Portland for the next 10 years.

Jan Johnson, a spokeswoman for the company — the U.S. subsidiary of Spanish energy developer Iberdrola Renovables S.A. — said the company has agreed to a 10-year extension of the lease for its 57,082-square-foot headquarters at 1125 N.W. Couch St. in the Pearl District’s Brewery Blocks.

Contributing to the company’s decision was Portland Development Commission’s offer of a $1,155,000 grant to be used for various tenant improvements, including technology upgrades.

The PDC board will vote to approve the grant on Wednesday.

The company’s decision comes a year after Portland Mayor Sam Adams and PDC Board Chairman Scott Andrews traveled to Madrid in an effort to convince Iberdrola Renovables CEO Xabier Viteri to keep the company in Portland.

At the time, Viteri made it clear to the city officials that the company would explore every option before making a decision. Andrews said the company explored Chicago, among other locales.

But its decision to stay in Portland — where in 10 years it has grown from a company of 12 people to one that employs 850, including 350 in Portland — is viewed as sign that the city’s hastily planned excursion to Spain was worth the cost.

“I think it was very helpful for the mayor to meet face to face,” Iberdrola’s Johnson said. “(There's) no question that the European way of doing business is a more personal way. Reaching out to global executives did focus their attention on the Portland metro area.”

Iberdrola now joins fellow wind-energy giant Vestas in making a long-term commitment to keep U.S. headquarters in Portland with the PDC’s help.

Vestas-American Wind Technology Inc., the U.S. headquarters of Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas A/S, announced in August 2010 that it would invest $66 million in a new Pearl District headquarters with help, in part, from an $8.1 million, 15-year, interest-free loan from the city.

Andrews on Thursday said Vestas and Iberdrola represent the pillars of the Portland-area’s clean energy economy, in much the same way that Nike Inc. and Columbia Sportswear Co. are the giants in the region’s footwear and apparel cluster.

“It’s a huge deal,” Andrews said. “The green energy component of our economy is pretty large.”

But it’s also on shaky ground.

Vestas’ parent company last month said it would lay off 2,335 workers worldwide — including 182 in North America — and could lay off another 1,600, mostly in its Colorado manufacturing operations, later this year if the federal government lets a crucial production tax credit expire.

And last week, Iberdrola announced it was laying off 50 in the U.S., including 25 in Portland, noting a down cycle in the global energy market.

On Thursday, both the city and Iberdrola downplayed any concerns about the company’s long-term future. Johnson noted how Iberdrola has invested around $9 billion in the U.S. over the past decade, and manages more than 5,000 megawatts of energy assets nationwide.

Though it will be more selective this year in identifying new projects, she said the federal investment tax credit for solar projects remains intact, providing opportunity for new solar energy developments in markets where prices are favorable.

And much like Vestas, the company is still hiring in certain areas, despite the layoffs.

Two days before announcing global layoffs, Vestas’ Portland division said it had 150 job openings across North America. On Thursday, Iberdrola’s Johnson said the company has around 23 job openings posted.“It’s the energy business, and it has these down cycles,” Johnson said. “We’re definitely here for the long term.”

@ErikSiemers | esiemers@bizjournals.com