IBERDROLA Ingeniería wins contract to construct new line to transmit energy from nine wind farms in Huelva for €43.1

Monday, Aug 18, 2008

IBERDROLA Ingeniería has been awarded a €43.1 million contract to construct a new transmission line to distribute the energy generated by nine wind farms corresponding to Group 3 of the Huelva electrical clearing zone, with a total power output of 335.15 MW.

It represents the largest energy infrastructure of this type which IBERDROLA's engineering and construction subsidiary has undertaken in Spain and one of the biggest contracts of its kind in the world.

The new double circuit transmission line, which is designed for 400 kilovolts (kV) but will initially operate at 220 kV, will connect the new substation of Puebla de Guzmán (Huelva) with that of Guillena (Sevilla) and will be 120 kilometres long. Later on it will serve as the main hub for transporting electrical energy to Andalucía and will reinforce the interconnection with Portugal.

The work will be carried out during the second half of this year and through much of 2009, and IBERDROLA Ingeniería y Construcción plans to deliver it turnkey ready to go into operation in October of next year.

The wind farms which the new link will serve were developed by the Andevalo Community of Electrical System Assets, part-owned by Gamesa and Age Generation Eolica. In concrete terms, it will serve to the following wind farms to the transmission grid: Los Lirios (48 MW), La Retuerta (38 MW), El Almendro (43.5 MW), La Tallisca (40 MW), Valdefuentes (28 MW), Las Cabezas (17.4 MW), El Centenar (40 MW), El Saucito (30.25 MW) and Majal Alto (50 MW).

Thanks to this award, the Company has consolidated itself as a global provider of energy solutions throughout the country and continues to strengthen its customer portfolio outside the IBERDROLA Group.

The strategy of this subsidiary in the power line field is centred on developing network to serve IBERDROLA's market; building new lines to allow the distribution of energy from renewable installations, both for companies within the Group and for outside customers, and putting installations of 132 kV and 220 kV into service for industrial customers.

In this connection, it is worth pointing out that IBERDROLA Ingeniería y Construcción had already developed important projects in this field in Spain in 2007, bringing 36 new installations into service, and connecting 486 kilometres of additional lines to the national grid.
A leading role in Europe

IBERDROLA Ingeniería y Construcción is one of the main companies in its sector in Europe. In 2007, the significant advance in the Company's International Business and the strong increase of contracts awarded by third parties generated a 64.3% increase in net profits from the previous year to €54.7M and sales growth of 80.5%, to €1,171 million.

Total contracts obtained by the Company reached €2,669 million last year, three times more than the figure for 2006. 88% of this quantity corresponds to contracts from third parties, with the remaining 12% coming from contracts signed with IBERDROLA, compared with 66% and 34%, respectively from the previous year, reflecting the this subsidiary's growing capacity to land contracts outside the Group.

Source: Iberdrola