Major extension for Aciloe

Spanish wind plant operator Aciloe, the owner of Valencia region's only operating wind station, has undergone its second major business extension this year as part of the frenetic strategic shuffling among developers in the region (page 52). A 15% share in Aciloe was bought by Caja de Ahorros del Mediterraneo (CAM), a major Valencian bank. CAM's entry follows on the heels of a ESP 2320 million credit which Aciloe clinched with Spanish bank Santander Central Hispano to finance an 18 MW extension to its 2.6 MW Buñol plant. In 1999, Aciloe won permission to put up a total of 21 MW prior to Valencia's wind power moratorium, now lifted. The wind plant extension, which Aciloe expects to complete before the autumn, will bring a further 21 Gamesa 850 kW turbines on-line. Aciloe is developing a series of wind plant in the region for between EUR 270 and EUR 451 million, according to regional press reports. Earlier this year, Isolux, a large Spanish industrial corporation with extensive interests in Valencia, took a 30% share in Aciloe.