We Get the Environmental Green Light for Onshore Wind Farm With World's Most Powerful Wind Turbines

Iberdrola has obtained a favourable Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the development of one of its wind projects in Spain - the Iglesias wind farm in Castilla y León - which will have the world's most powerful onshore wind turbines manufactured by Siemens Gamesa - the first 5.X platform equipment in Spain.

The company is adapting this new wind energy production facility, which will have a capacity of 70 megawatts (MW), to meet all environmental requirements. It will also generate enough clean energy to supply more than 66,000 homes per year and will prevent the emission of 32,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere per year.

With an investment of approximately €72 million, the construction of this wind farm will have a significant local component, as it will employ civil works companies, such as the Burgos-based Copsa, labour, transporters, suppliers of raw materials (aggregates, concrete, steel, prefabricated products, etc.), cranes, auxiliary means, etc., as well as the promotion of industrial suppliers. It is expected that up to 260 professionals will be involved in the project during peak work periods.

It will also have a regional vision, the nacelles will be assembled at the Siemens Gamesa plant in Agreda (Soria) and the gearboxes for the wind turbines, with 6 MW and 170 metres of rotor, will be manufactured in Lerma (Burgos). Various regional and national suppliers will also be responsible for producing different components, such as the wind turbine towers in Avilés and Linares.
 
Competitive energy and environmental balance
Iberdrola has fully integrated the conservation of the biological diversity of ecosystems into its strategy, demonstrating that the supply of competitive, clean, and sustainable energy can effectively coexist with environmental balance.

In this way, the company continues to implement solutions to promote the coexistence of renewable facilities and the habitats in which they are developed. Iberdrola will implement various initiatives at this wind farm to improve the visibility of its wind turbines and deter the presence of certain species of birds in the area, installing bird detection equipment to avoid any collisions.

A new energy landscape that fixes population in rural areas
With this new wind farm, Iberdrola will reinforce its commitment to Castilla y León, which is consolidating its position as a major centre for renewable developments in the company's investment cycle to 2025, where it already manages more than 5,100 MW, making it the autonomous community with the most 'green' megawatts installed by the company.

Iberdrola promotes renewable energies as an engine for rural development and in this way the villages emerge as a guarantee for the future. This is the case of the villages of Castile and Leon, surrounded by wind farms and photovoltaic plants that Iberdrola is promoting and which will contribute to a sustainable recovery, allowing the creation of local employment.

In the province of Burgos alone, Iberdrola has recently built or is developing more than 550 megawatts between seven wind farms. The company is currently immersed in the construction of the Valdemoro and Buniel wind farms, and has recently started up its first photovoltaic plant in Castilla y León -Revilla-Vallejera-.