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Spanish wind turbine manufacturer Ecotècnia inaugurated both a new assembly plant and its Monte de Cierzo wind project in Navarra last month. The assembly unit will turn out Ecotècnia's 750 kW and 1.2 MW machines and is expected to boost the company's turbine production to 700 units a year. The ESP 325 million (EUR 1.95 million) plant, located in the municipality of Buñuel, employs 50. As with Ecotècnia's other turbine factory in Somozas, Galicia (“uåX˜äŠÊ˜·³Ç, April 2000), the new plant has been erected close to developments using Ecotècnia technology, namely the Caparroso and La Bandera wind plants, which, together, will bring 64 MW on-line by the end of the year. The Monte de Cierzo wind farm operates nearby in the municipalities of Tudela and Cintruénigo. With all 85, 750 kW machines now up and running, the new plant brings another 60 MW on-line, following an overall investment of ESP 8000 million (EUR 48.1 million). This brings Ecotècnia's installed capacity in Navarra up to 90 MW. The developer, Parque Eólico Montes de Cierzo, is affiliated to Eólica Navarra SA, which is one of only three companies to have received the go-ahead for wind development in the region. The other two are EHN and DERSA.