Iberdrola buys Mexican wind farm from Gamesa

This transaction brings the company’s wind energy capacity in Mexico up to 106 MW. Located in the State of Oaxaca and with an installed capacity of 26 megawatts (MW), Bii Nee Stipa is the company’s second operational wind farm in Mexico.

All of the Iberdrola Renovables wind power facilities in Mexico will be equipped with Gamesa wind turbines. This transaction brings the company’s wind energy capacity in Mexico up to 106 MW.

Iberdrola Renovables is at the forefront of renewable development in Mexico, where it already has the 80 MW capacity La Ventosa wind farm and is currently building another, La Venta III, with 103 MW capacity.

All of the Iberdrola Renovables wind power facilities in Mexico will be equipped with Gamesa wind turbines. This will further cement Gamesa’s status as its main international supplier

Iberdrola Renovables, world leaderl in wind energy, has bought the Beii Nee Stipa wind farm in Mexico from Gamesa. This facility, which has an installed capacity of 26 megawatts (MW) is the company’s second operational wind farm in Mexico, bringing its capacity in the country up to 106 MW.

Bee Nee Stipa wind farm is located in Juchitán de Zaragoza, in the State of Oaxaca. This municipality is located on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, one of the windiest areas in the world. The farm consists of 31 Gamesa-manufactured G52 model wind turbines, each with the capacity to generate 850 kilowatts (kW) and measuring 65 metres high.

Iberdrola Renovables is at the forefront in developing new renewable energy facilities in Mexico, where it already has the 80 MW installed capacity La Ventosa wind farm in operation. This facility was registered at the time by the UN as a Clean Development Mechanism. La Ventosa is located within a few kilometres of Bii Nee Stipa, which is also in the municipality of Juchitán de Zaragoza. When it was commissioned, it was the first wind farm to have been completely developed by private enterprise in Mexico. The facility consists of 94 wind turbines measuring 44 metres high, also the Gamesa-manufactured G52 model.

Iberdrola Renovables is also engaged in building another wind farm, La Venta III, in the municipality of Santo Domingo Ingenio, in the State of Oaxaca. This wind farm, the capacity of which will be 103 MW, will use 121 Gamesa-manufactured G52 model wind turbines, each with the capacity to generate 850 kW and measuring 44 metres high.

By the time La Venta III is commissioned, the company will have an operational installed capacity of 209 MW in Mexico, which will enable it to supply electricity to around 110,000 homes and avoid some 420,000 tonnes of atmospheric emissions of CO2 per year.

All of the Iberdrola Renovables wind farms in Mexico (La Ventosa, La Venta III and Bii Nee Stipa) will be equipped with Gamesa technology, which will further cement this company as its main international supplier. In fact, of the company’s total installed capacity of 12,006 MW, 7,079 MW in 11 different countries are equipped with Gamesa technology.

Strengthening its foothold in Latin America

Geographical diversification is one of the main competitive advantages of Iberdrola Renovables. Its international strategy is focused on growth in countries with favourable regulatory frameworks and a high potential for development in the renewable energies sector.

Nowadays, the United States and the United Kingdom are the company’s priority markets, but Latin America (Mexico and Brazil in particular) is an important target in strengthening its growth in the years to come.

In fact, apart from its presence in Mexico, Iberdrola Renovables also has a wind farm in Brazil, Rio do Fogo, located in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, with an installed capacity of 49 MW. In a consortium with Neoenergia, a Brazilian energy holding partly owned by the Iberdrola Group holding, the company was recently awarded a contract to commission nine wind farms in Brazil, with a combined installed capacity of 258 MW.

Iberdrola Renovables operates in 23 countries and is the world leader in its sector, both in terms of installed capacity – with 12,006 MW at the close of the third quarter of 2010 – , and of output: almost 18,091 million kWh between January and September of this year.

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