Alstom wins wind power order worth over ?200 million with Iberdrola

“This order represents a major technological milestone, while strengthening our relationship with SPR and, of course, with Iberdrola Renovables, for whom Alstom has installed six wind farm projects in Europe totalling 185 MW” says Alfonso Faubel, Vice President of Alstom Wind. “This also proves that Alstom can, and does, take enormous steps to protect the environment.”

The Whitelee wind farm extension is one of the largest onshore wind power projects in Europe, and represents the first large scale project for Alstom’s powerful ECO 100 wind turbine, a major milestone for the company. The order also signifies Alstom’s continued commitment to the growing UK renewable energy market.

Stephen Burgin, Country President and Head of Power for Alstom in the UK, said: “Alstom is a significant force in the UK power generation industry and is now establishing a strong position in renewable energy. The successful culmination of this contract, as well as the 26 MW onshore wind farm we are constructing at Maesgwyn in South Wales, confirms our commitment to the UK renewable energy market.”

Alstom is constructing a wind farm for Pennant Walters in Maesgwyn, Wales, comprising of 13 ECO 80 wind turbines that will collectively generate 26 MW of power. Alstom has recently completed a 15 MW wind farm at Clachan Flats, Scotland for Scottish Power Renewables, inaugurated on 26th July The new wind farm consists of nine Alstom ECO 74 turbines generating enough electricity to power over 8,500 homes.

The UK plans to generate up to 35 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020, most of which will come from wind energy. To meet this target, the UK will need 14 GW of extra onshore wind capacity, compared with approximately 3 GW today.The Europe wind power sector has large growth potential. In just 15 years, installed generation capacity increased from 2,5 GW in 1995 to 74,8 GW by the end of 2009, and the sector could reach an installed capacity of 230 GW by 2020*.

Additionally, Alstom and Iberdrola Renovables have reached an agreement to install 100 MW in Spain (consisting of 60 ECO 80 wind turbines, each with an output of 1.67 MW) in 2011 and a further 49 MW (consisting of 29 ECO 80 machines with an output of 1.67 MW) in 2012. Collaboration between Alstom and Iberdrola Renovables continues to strengthen with the companies working together on several onshore projects worldwide and also on the joint development of floating deep offshore wind technology.

Alstom’s ECO 100 and ECO 110 wind turbines belong to the company’s new 3 MW ECO 100 platform, which represents a major advance in turbine power capacity and energy yield. With its 100m rotor diameter, the ECO 100, suitable for medium to high wind speeds, is at the forefront of the emerging 3 MW onshore wind turbine technology fast becoming the market standard in Europe. All Alstom’s wind turbines contain the unique ALSTOM PURE TORQUE ™ rotor support concept, which protects the gearbox and other drive train components from deflection loads for increased reliability.

*Source: European Wind Energy Association

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