Wind wire: Buying up six

A Spanish joint venture made up of investment firm Inveravante and wind newcomers Gestamp, a steel supplier and car component manufacturer, is buying six wind projects from Gamesa, Spain's leading wind company.

Three projects are in the north-east region of Catalonia, the rest in the northernmost region of Galicia. The agreement kicks off with the immediate sale of the 30 MW Les Forques development in Catalonia, which is already operational, while the remaining capacity is scheduled for handover progressively by end 2009, says Inveravante.

The investment firm is also building a 50 MW wind plant in the Dominican Republic and says it is exploring wind development partnerships across Latin America and Eastern Europe. The company is led by Galician agro-food magnate Manuel Jove and is aiming to have a controlling stake in 1500 MW of wind capacity in the near future. More modestly, Gestamp says it hopes to own 189 MW of wind capacity through acquiring stakes in developments across Spain, Eastern Europe and the US.