Historical look at players in the Wind industry: Iberdrola

Iberdrola had 12,532 MW of installed capacity at the end of 2010, and is still the number one developer of wind farms. This company has experienced strong growth from only 1,000 MW of wind capacity in 2001.

In 2010 Iberdrola installed 1,780 MW of new wind from 39 wind farms, more than any other utility. Some 1,043 MW of this was commissioned in the United States, 420 MW in Spain, 130 MW in the UK and 187 MW in Europe and Latin America. In June 2010, the 404 MW Peñascal wind farm in Texas started operating. This farm includes a radar that detects large flocks of migrating birds and stops the turbine rotating if poor visibility means that the birds are at risk.

In September 2009, Iberdrola issued USD 2billion (EUR 1.36 billion) in debt between 150 US investors. This is part of Iberdrola’s intent to focus on the US market in the near term.

In January 2010 Iberdrola Renewables and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) agreed to jointly develop wind projects in Poland and Hungary. In April that year, Iberdrola was granted a licence by the Romanian grid operator, Transelectrica, to connect 1,500 MW of wind power to the national grid. As part of a partnership with Eolica Dobrogea, Iberdrola will develop 50 wind farms in Romania, with a total capacity of 1.5 GW. Construction will take place between 2011 and 2017.

In August 2010, Iberdrola and Neoenergia were awarded a contract for nine wind farms in Brazil with a capacity of 258 MW. Electricity from the plants will be supplied to the Brazil government for twenty years from 2013.

Iberdrola has signed two supply contracts with Gamesa. The first, in 2006, was for the supply of 2.7 GW of turbine capacity for Spain, Europe, Mexico and the UK. A second supply contract was signed in June 2008 for 4.5 GW of capacity to be deployed between 2010 and 2015. Also in 2008, Iberdrola signed a purchase agreement with Gamesa to acquire approximately 1 GW of wind farms in the US. Both companies set up two vehicles to promote, develop and manage wind projects in Spain and other countries. In September 2009, a new agreement was signed with Gamesa whereby Iberdrola would have pre-emptive rights on wind developments with permits, licences and authorisation for construction of a wind farm, which Gamesa could sell to third parties up until the end of June 2011. Then from the 1st July to the end of 2011 cross options would be available, for example Iberdrola could potentially acquire Gamesa’s wind development businesses, or a joint venture could be set up to manage Gamesa’s business and Iberdrola’s wind projects.

The above was originally published in 2010

The future of hydropower in Latin America and the Caribbean

Hydro-power is no longer what it used to be during the golden 1970s when the whole region was engaged in dash for hydro. Most of the best sites have already been developed and new sites face environmental restrictions so the long run marginal cost of hydro-power has increased relative to other alternatives. Today hydro faces stiffer competition from thermal power. The change in gas-fired power generation technology has made a difficult case even worse. A key feature of investments in hydroelectric power generation projects is that they require long term loans with extensive grace periods because they are capital-intensive, have a long construction phase with significant risks and have a long useful life. As a result, private developers prefer thermal plants. It is not only the environment that is conspiring against hydro development.

Nevertheless, there remain many instances in which hydro alternatives still may be the most economical way to produce power. Hydropower will most likely constitute the main source for Brazilian electricity for at least a decade., Venezuela still has not completed its development of the lower Caroní River Basin and may have interesting sites in the upper basin. Other countries, such as Peru and Ecuador, may either experience some delays in joining the dash for gas or may have important and competitive hydro developments available.

While there are still some old faces in the pipeline of potential projects involving large dams (some cheap and relatively problem- free like Corpus in the Paraná River, some more questionable like Boruca in Costa Rica), there are new sites like Cheves, a 520 MW high head project in the Huaura river in Perú, which for one reason or another didn't figure prominently in the old expansion plans of the golden age. Also, neglected by the earlier inventories are small and medium size sites or even scaled down versions of old projects. The development by the private sector of smaller, 25 MW, high head and relatively environmentally sound projects in Colombia and Costa Rica is an indication of what may lie ahead.