Iberdrola has begun commissioning the Herrera II wind complex in Castilla y León, Spain. It consists of three farms – La Huesca, Valdesantos and Orbanejoa – with 63 MW of installed capacity and a total of 14 wind turbines. It will generate enough electricity to supply the equivalent of 60 000 households per year and will prevent the release of 50 000 t CO2/yr into the atmosphere.
Iberdrola has spent €70 million developing the wind complex and stimulating the region's industrial sector. The development employed around 800 people and almost all the on-site civil works were entrusted to local companies. Likewise, in most cases, the components of these wind turbines have been manufactured in Spain: the multipliers in Burgos, the nacelles in Soria, and the turbines in Cantabria.
The SG 4.5-145 wind turbines installed at Herrera II, with 70 m long blades and a diameter of 145 m – three times larger than that of the first wind turbines ¬– are the most powerful and largest onshore wind turbines in Spain, with a unit power of 4.5 MW, almost seven times greater than that of the first wind turbines installed in our country more than two decades ago.
The Orbaneja and La Huesa wind farms have been built in the municipalities of Isar, Las Quintanillas, Rabé de las Calzadas and Estepar: the first of these consists of seven wind turbines, with a total installed capacity of 31.5 MW, while the second has four turbines totalling 18 MW. Valdesantos, on the other hand, has been built in Estepar and has three wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 13.5 MW.
With this project, the company is ratifying its commitment to Castilla y León and its leadership in renewable energy in the region, where it already operates 5200 MW – of which 1600 MW are wind – making this the largest autonomous community in terms of 'green' capacity installed by the company.
With the commissioning of the Herrera II wind farms, Castilla y León is establishing its position as an important centre for renewable energy developments in the company's investment cycle up to 2025.
In the province of Burgos alone, the company has recently built or is developing more than 550 MW in projects such as Ballestas and Casetona (69 MW), Fuenteblanca (10 MW), Buniel (114 MW), Valdemoro (50 MW), Iglesias (94 MW) and Alcocero de Mola (102 MW); as well as the Revilla Vallejera photovoltaic (PV) installation (50 MW) and two hybrid PV plants in the pipeline in Ballestas and Casetona (69 MW).
Over the coming years, Iberdrola plans to develop more than 2400 MW of renewable energy in the region – wind and PV – for which it will allocate investments in excess of €2 billion. According to PNIEC estimates, this volume of resources will stimulate industry and create jobs for 18 000 people.
The start-up of Herrera II comes on top of other renewable projects launched by the company in the past 12 months, despite the pandemic: the Núñez de Balboa, Campo de Arañuelo I and II PV plants in Ceclavín, in Extremadura; the Cavar wind farm in Navarre; the solar project in Andévalo (Andalucía); the Barcience PV project (Castille - La Mancha), the Fuenteblanca wind farm (Castilla y León) and the Azaila PV plant in Aragón.
Iberdrola is building 1700 MW of renewable capacity in Spain and has a pipeline of more than 17 000 MW on the Iberian Peninsula. In Spain, the company is the leader in the renewable energy sector with an installed capacity of 17 000 MW, which will increase to 25 000 MW with its investment plan up to 2025.
Iberdrola has been leading the energy transition for two decades, acting as a key driving force to transform the industrial fabric and in the green recovery of the economy and employment.
To achieve this, the company has launched a major investment plan worth €150 billion over the next decade (€75 billion by 2025), to triple its renewable capacity to almost 100 000 MW, doubling its network assets and taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the energy revolution the world's leading economies are facing. In Spain, investments until 2025 account for some €14.3 billion, €7 billion of which will be used to develop renewable projects.
Investments worth €120 billion over the last 20 years have made Iberdrola a leader in renewable energy with nearly 35 000 MW installed worldwide, a volume that makes its generation fleet one of the cleanest in the energy sector.
