Iberdrola Ingeniería to build $99 million wind farm at Piedra Larga in Mexico

Iberdrola Ingeniería has been awarded a $99 million contract to construct a wind farm at Piedra Larga in Oaxaca state, Mexico. The facility will be one of the country’s largest wind turbines plant, with an installed capacity of 228 megawatts (MW).

This contract will enable the Iberdrola subsidiary to consolidate its position as the leading builder of wind farms in Mexico. It is the majority shareholder in the consortium which is to undertake the work, with Global Energy Services Mexico (GES) holding the remaining 49.7%.

The two companies have been commissioned to carry out the turnkey project by Gesa Eólica México. It includes engineering and public works, the installation of wind turbines and other infrastructures, such as a medium voltage grid and transformer stations.

The consortium will also be responsible for operating and maintaining the wind farm during the guarantee period.

The Piedra Larga facility, in the municipality of Unión Hidalgo, will be developed in two stages. The first, which amounts to 90 MW of installed capacity, is expected to be completed by mid-March next year. The second, in which the remaining 138 MW will be brought on stream, is to be completed one year later, on 15 March 2012.

Iberdrola Ingeniería has already built two wind farms in Mexico (La Venta II with 83.3 MW of installed capacity and La Ventosa with 80 MW) and is developing a third, La Venta III, which will have an installed capacity of 102.85 MW.

The company has also undertaken major distribution grid projects in Mexico in recent years. In mid-2009 it was awarded its largest contract in Mexico, amounting to $160 million, to expand and modernise the electricity infrastructures of the states of Veracruz and Chiapas.

These major projects bolster Iberdrola Ingeniería’s position in Latin America, where it is developing energy engineering projects in Mexico, Brazil and Venezuela valued at approximately €680 million.

Renewable energy and power distribution lines are two of the company’s main areas of activity, together with the development of power generation infrastructures and nuclear power.

At the close of 2009, Iberdrola Ingeniería had a project portfolio worth over €2,500 million, up 10% on 2008. 87% of the portfolio was for projects abroad, compared to 81% in 2008. Third-party contracts rose by 33% last year, to nearly €1,425 million.

The Iberdrola subsidiary is currently Spain’s leading engineering company in the electricity sector and the third largest worldwide in terms of turnover from foreign business, with operations in over 30 countries in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa.

The company, which has over 2,400 employees, introduced a new strategy in 2005 based on developing international operations and third-party contracts. Output has tripled and its project portfolio has multiplied by 3.3 over the last five years.

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