Iberdrola has formalized today one of the largest contracts in its history for a value of around 1,500 million euros, for the construction of 95 Siemens Gamesa wind turbines for the East Anglia Three offshore wind farm, the second largest in the world.
This was announced by the president of the company, Ignacio Galán, in his speech at the Aurora forum at the University of Oxford. Subsequently, Galán was received in Downing Street by the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, with whom he had the opportunity to talk about the current situation of the energy sector and the company’s commitment to the country.
The 95 turbines, of 14.7 MW each, will have a combined capacity of 1,400 MW renewables, enough to supply 1.3 million British homes.
“The size and ambition of this project are yet another example of Iberdrola’s commitment to decarbonisation and energy security around the world, through large renewable infrastructures such as the East Anglia Three offshore wind farm, capable of generating economic activity at throughout its entire supply chain and generate thousands of jobs”, stated the Chairman of Iberdrola.
“This clearly demonstrates our drive and determination to transition towards a clean, efficient and self-sufficient energy model, capable of responding to the main current challenges”, Galán reiterated.
East Anglia Three is being built in the North Sea, 69 kilometers from Great Yarmouth. The project will create more than 2,300 jobs during the two years of construction and more than 100 in operation and maintenance tasks throughout the entire useful life of the wind farm.
The Spanish subsidiary has already signed contracts worth almost 70 million pounds with British companies for the East Anglia Three and it is estimated that the company will invest almost 2.3 billion euros in the United Kingdom to support the construction and operation of East Anglia throughout the useful life of the project.
East Anglia Three will join Iberdrola’s six offshore wind farms already operational or under construction. The group has already commissioned the West of Duddon Sands facilities (195 MW), in the Irish Sea; Wikinger (350 MW) in German Baltic Sea waters; and East Anglia ONE.
The company also currently has three other large offshore facilities under construction. In France, the installation of what will be its first large offshore wind farm in this country, Saint-Brieuc, is advancing, which, with almost 500 MW of capacity and an investment of 2,500 euros, will generate enough clean energy to meet electricity consumption of 835,000 people, once it enters into operation in 2023.
In the United States, Iberdrola is building, with an investment of around 2,500 million euros, what will be the first commercial-scale wind farm in the country, Vineyard Wind 1 (806 MW), off the coast of the state of Massachusetts. This facility will be able to meet the energy needs of more than 400,000 homes and will prevent the emission of more than 1.6 million tons of CO2 per year.
In Germany, the group has begun to build its second major offshore wind initiative in the country, after Wikinger. The 476 MW farm, called Baltic Eagle, will be able to cover the demand of 475,000 homes and prevent the emission of almost one million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year. The company also plans to develop a third offshore project in this area: Windanker (300 MW). Together, the three renewable facilities will give rise to the largest offshore wind complex in the Baltic Sea, with a total installed capacity of 1,100 MW and a joint investment of approximately 3.5 billion euros.
