Iberdrola takes ownership of Ailes Marines

The company is developing, constructing and operating the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm in France, a country that has become an increasingly strategic market for Iberdrola.

Iberdrola, which previously owned 70% of the consortium's capital, has acquired the remaining 30% from Avel Vor, after receiving the green light from the French Ministry of the Economy.

The transaction will add momentum to the project, which is scheduled to begin construction in 2021. Once fully operational in 2023, the installed capacity will be 496 MW.

Located approximately 16 km off the coast of Brittany, France, the Saint-Brieuc plant will require an overall investment of around €2.4 billion. It will be equipped with 62 Siemens Gamesa wind turbines, each with an 8 MW capacity, installed in a 75-square-km area. The turbines will have a total height of 207 m.

Nearly 20 years after the move into onshore wind, Iberdrola now continues to spearhead the development offshore wind, a market with significant global potential. It currently has a project pipeline of circa 12.4 GW in three main areas: the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the US.

With €13.26 billion (39%) out of Iberdrola's total €34 billion global investment plan up to 2022 earmarked for renewables, offshore wind is a cornerstone of the company's strategy.

The group is currently operating two offshore wind farms: West of Duddon Sands, which began operations in the Irish Sea in 2014, and Wikinger, in the German waters of the Baltic Sea, operational since December 2017.

In the UK, East Anglia ONE is now also generating power and nearing completion. Around 80% of the wind turbines (82 of 102) are now installed. Once completed, the 714 MW of installed capacity will be capable of powering 630,000 UK homes for an investment of £2.5 billion.

Iberdrola has also announced the development of East Anglia Hub, a macro-complex comprising the company's three remaining projects in the North Sea: East Anglia One North, East Anglia Two and East Anglia Three. With a 3100 MW installed capacity, it will require an investment of around £6.5 billion and the construction phase, expected to take around four years, will start in 2022. The main suppliers will be announced within the next 10 months.

Iberdrola is also preparing to begin construction of a commercial offshore wind farm in the US: Vineyard Wind. Off the coast of Massachusetts, it will have 800 MW capacity. Additionally, in December 2019, the company was awarded the contract to build Park City, an 804 MW facility off the Connecticut coastline to the south of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

In Germany, in April 2018, the company was awarded contracts to build two new plants in the Baltic Sea, with a joint capacity of 486 MW: Baltic Eagle and Wikinger South.

The company expects to be operating 2000 MW of offshore wind in late 2022 and 3000 MW by 2024.

Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/wind/09032020/iberdrola-takes-ownership-of-ailes-marines/