Iberdrola Puts the Puylobo Wind Farm in Aragon Into Operation
Iberdrola continues to make progress with its investment plans in renewables to keep driving the energy transition forward, and with it the recovery of the economy and employment. This is the background for the commissioning of the Puylobo wind farm, in the province of Zaragoza, following its completion in the record time of eight months during the pandemic.
Located in the province of Zaragoza, in the municipalities of Borja and Mallén, the project has 49 MW of installed power and comprises fourteen SG 3.4-132 wind turbines, a model with a 64.5 m long blade, optimal for medium and high wind locations. The entry into operation of Puylobo will avoid the annual emission of 19,000 t/CO2 and part of its output will supply 100% renewable energy to the 13,500 supply points of Vodafone’s own network in Spain as from January, as a result of the long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) signed by the two companies.
The construction of the wind farm has involved over 120 workers with a significant local contribution: civil works by local companies, and many of the turbine components – towers, nacelles, generators, gears and transformers – have been manufactured in Asturias, Cantabria, Soria and Burgos.
Puylobo marks the completion for Iberdrola over the last year and a half of 122 renewable megawatts (MW) in Aragon, including the El Pradillo wind farm (23 MW), in Zaragoza – operational since January – and its first photovoltaic plant (Azaila) of 50 MW, which is nearing completion in Teruel. This takes the company to nearly 500 renewable MW installed in the region.
A DOUBLING OF THE RENEWABLE COMMITMENT WITH 500 GREEN MW IN PROGRESS
Aragon is one of the regions in which Iberdrola has decided to keep investing, doubling its renewable commitment in recent years, with nearly 500 green MW in progress. These are the Peñaflor, Fuendetodos and Escatrón photovoltaic plants, plus a co-developed wind power installation in Pancrudo, Teruel. All the projects have connection access and environmental analysis.
Additionally, Iberdrola intends to develop wind and photovoltaic projects of 700 MW installed capacity in various areas of the region.
GREEN INVESTMENT TO PROMOTE THE RECOVERY OF THE ECONOMY AND EMPLOYMENT
Iberdrola is convinced that the energy transition can act as a key vector in the transformation of the industrial fabric and the green recovery of the economy and employment. With this in mind, Iberdrola has launched a historic investment programme worth €75bn for 2020-2025, with the aim of doubling its renewable capacity and taking advantage of the opportunities provided by the energy revolution that the world’s major economies are facing.
Investments for Spain for the period amount to nearly €14.3bn, half of which – over €7bn – will be earmarked for new renewable projects, while €4.5bn will go towards fortifying and continuing to digitalise the electricity grids.
After 20 years promoting the energy transition in Spain, Iberdrola leads in renewable energy in the country, with an installed renewable capacity exceeding 16,700 MW at September 2020 – an amount that rises to more than 33,000 MW worldwide, making its generation facilities among the cleanest in the energy sector.
With CO2/kWh emissions already two-thirds below the European average, the investment strategy in networks and clean energy will make Iberdrola a “carbon neutral” company in Europe by 2030.
