Spain, being as it is a pioneer and pointer country in the use of wind energy, although in recent years the installation of new parks has stalled. Although, we can still boast of having the largest wind farm in continental Europe.
It is the El Andévalo complex, which with its 292 MW power is only surpassed by the Whitelee park, in Scotland, which totals 322. The curious thing is that both are owned by the same company, and it is Spanish, Iberdrola Renovables, and both with turbines from the Basque company Gamesa.
When the Andévalo was owned a few years ago, the company consolidated its position of energy leader wind power both in Andalusia, with 851 MW, and throughout Spain, with 5.700 MW.
Where is the Andévalo?
It is located between the Huelva municipalities of El Almendro, Alosno, San Silvestre and Puebla de Guzmán, in the south of this Andalusian province. The complex, which began to run in 2010It is made up of eight wind farms: Majal Alto (50 MW), Los Lirios (48 MW), El Saucito (30 MW), El Centenar (40 MW), La Tallisca (40 MW), La Retuerta (38 MW), Las Cabezas (18 MW) and Valdefuentes (28 MW).
In total, the aforementioned 292 MW, which allow the annual electricity production of this immense plant to supply 140.000 homes and it is calculated that it avoids the emission into the atmosphere of no less than 510.000 tons of CO2.
It was in February 2010 when Iberdrola Renovales took ownership of the entire complex. The Los Lirios wind farm was the last one it acquired, within a wind farm sale and purchase agreement in Andalusia signed with Gamesa. The operation, which is part of the agreement signed by both companies in 2005 for the sale of wind farms in Andalusia. Its final cost exceeded 320 million euros.
In fact, as we have commented previously, the entire park has been built with Gamesa technology, using two wind turbine models, the G90 and the G58, which offer 2 MW and 0,85 MW of unit power respectively.
To evacuate the energy from El Andévalo, Iberdrola Engineering and Construction enabled Red Eléctrica de España a new 120-kilometer long line that connects Puebla de Guzmán with the Sevillian town of Guillena. In addition, the original plan contemplated the construction of a second line that would connect Puebla de Guzmán with Portugal, with which the importance of the park is also of a strategic nature.
With the construction of this immense facility, 50 new direct jobs destined to the operation and maintenance of the parks, in addition to the 400 more workers who intervened during the phase of the different parks
Although as the installation has been commented works partially since 2010, the complex was inaugurated in March 2011 with the presence of the then president of the Junta de Andalucia, José Antonio Griñán, and that of Iberdrola Renovables, Ignacio Galán. It goes without saying that this complex is the one that makes the largest contribution to wind energy in the province of Huelva, specifically, 292 of the 383,8 MV of power in the province.
So much so, that the Andalusian Energy Agency estimated the contribution of Huelva to wind power in the autonomous community at 11,5 percent, which within Spain is the one that has grown the most in this sector of renewables during the last five years. All the wind power in Huelva is used to supply 164.000 homes annually.
Iberdrola Renovables EnergÃa
Iberdrola Renovables Energía is a business head of the Iberdrola Group with registered office in Spain, which carries out the liberalized activities of electricity generation and commercialization of electrical energy through renewable energy sources and that, consequently, aims to carry out all kinds of activities, works and services related to the business of production and commercialization of electricity through facilities that use renewable energy sources.
These can be hydropower, wind, thermosolar, photovoltaic, or from biomass; production, treatment and commercialization of biofuels and derived products; and project, engineering, development, construction, operation, maintenance and disposal of the facilities included above, whether owned or owned by third parties, the analysis services, engineering studies or energy, environmental, technical and economic consulting, related to said type of facilities.
The aforementioned activities are carried out mainly in Spain and in the geographical area that extends Portugal, Italy, Greece, Romania, Hungary and to some other countries, and are carried out either directly, totally or partially, or through the ownership of shares, participations, quotas or equivalent parts in other companies or entities.