Iberdrola’s assembly of turbines in Spain is underway

The company has commenced the assembly work of the wind turbines, having finished the civil work, planned the arrival of materials at the wind farm sites and organised the different actions to be performed in the field. Up to 400 people are involved in these tasks.

To reach the level of the wind farms, the materials (towers, nacelles and blades, among others) are transported along narrow single-access roads with numerous slopes and bends of up to almost 180º. This activity has required exhaustive planning to avoid effects on the planned works and to make possible the arrival of up to 200 daily shipments with different materials.

At an altitude of 800 m, and in an area with constant weather shifts that make work difficult, large wind turbines are already being erected: blades of 56 m in length, nacelles weighing 126 t and towers of between 80 and 93 m in height.

The wind farms will consist of SG114 wind turbines, with a unit capacity of 2.62 MW: Cordel-Vidural (37 MW) is located between the municipalities of Navia, Valdés and Villayón; Capiechamartín (34 MW) is located between Tineo and Valdés; Verdigueiro (36 MW) will be built between Tineo and Villayón and Panondres (21 MW) between Villayón and Valdés.

The construction of these projects is contributing to the revitalisation of the local industrial framework and will generate up to 1000 jobs.

Almost all the field work and civil works are being carried out by Asturian companies such as Hormavasa and Horvalsa, Canteras Rencanos, Deymet, Excade, Posada, Méndez y Mota, Gruas Roxu and Taxus; the project is being developed by ERPASA and the manufacturing of the wind turbine towers, for example, is being carried out at the Windar facilities in Avilés.

In this way, the company is contributing to the consolidation of a model in which Asturian companies and the generation of employment are oriented towards sectors of the future, such as renewable energies.

Once in operation, the wind farms will generate energy to supply more than 100 000 homes and avoid the emission of 65 500 tpy of CO₂.

Renewable energy, purchases from local suppliers, and innovation and training to transform Asturias

Iberdrola has defined four areas of action related to energy transition as its contribution to the socio-economic development of Asturias: more investment in renewables, support for job creation by offering opportunities and contracts to local industry, the training of young people in the skills required by the employment sectors of the future and the development of new innovation projects, such as the creation of a Citizens' Innovation Platform.

In addition to the construction of 130 MW of wind power, the company is helping with the opening of new markets for local industry, with the awarding of contracts to Asturian companies that as of July amounted to €200 million, multiplying the average purchases from Asturian suppliers made by the company each year by fourfold.

These projects will enable companies from Asturias to take part in growth sectors in Spain and international markets and also create thousands of jobs in the region.

Iberdrola's contribution in Asturias also includes the creation of a Citizens' Innovation Platform, to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in the region, and the implementation of training programmes in the energies of the future for Dual Vocational Training students, colleges and universities in the region, with the aim of turning future generations into active players in the energy transition.

Renewable energies to activate recovery

Iberdrola is convinced that the recovery of the economy and employment will have to be green. This commitment has led it to earmark record investments this year of €10 billion in renewable energy, smart grids and large-scale energy storage systems, after having allocated €25 billion since 2001 in Spain - rising to €100 billion worldwide.

For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry read our latest issue of Energy Global magazine.

Energy Global’s Summer 2020 issue

The Summer issue of Energy Global provides in-depth technical articles covering technological advancements and future outlooks in the renewables sector, from companies including Sulzer, Power Ledger, JinkoSolar, Trelleborg Applied Technologies, Clir Renewables, and many more. The issue covers a spectrum of clean energies, from wind to hydrogen to solar to biofuels.

Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/wind/15102020/iberdrolas-assembly-of-turbines-in-spain-is-underway/