Spanish utility Iberdrola has called on the French government to “speed up its permitting process” as it unveiled plans to invest up to €4bn ($4.5bn) to expand in offshore and onshore wind farms, and solar power in the country over the next four years.

“France is a strategic country for Iberdrola,” said group chairman Ignacio Galan at a virtual summit organised by the French government around the need to boost investment in the green recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic.