Spanish utility Iberdrola buys 201 MW under development in Germany and France
Spain's second utility, Iberdrola, has struck yet another wind project purchase deal, this time to buy a total of 201 MW of wind plant in development across Germany and France from Eternegy, a 100% affiliate of Germany's fifth electricity distributor, municipal utility MVV Energie of Mannheim. The agreement comes just a month after a similar deal in which Iberdrola clinched a purchase option on 300 MW developed by Germany's P&T Technology across France and Italy (“uåX˜äŠÊ˜·³Ç, July 2005). Under the latest deal, the utility's German affiliate, Iberdrola Regenerative Energien, will buy projects totalling 107 MW and will also take on seven members of Eternegy staff. French affiliate Iberdrola Énergies Renouvelables will buy 94 MW in France. All 201 MW are at different phases of development and none of the projects is yet building. Iberdrola currently operates a wind station portfolio of 2965 MW and is aiming to operate 5500 MW of renewables by 2008, 1000 MW of that abroad. Apart from the P&T and Eternegy deals, the utility has also recently opened renewables headquarters in the UK, France and Italy, on top of its longer-standing wind project development interests in Greece, Portugal, Germany, Mexico and Brazil. Since January, Iberdrola has connected 74 MW, all in Spain, and has a further 208 MW building at its huge Maranchón complex in the region of Castile-La Mancha as well as its 50 MW Rio do Fogo project in Brazil.