“It is a critical time in the development of wind energy in the U.S., says José Manuel Entrecanales, Chairman of Spain-based Acciona Group.
Acciona’s manufacturing facility in West Branch, Iowa produces the company’s 1.5 MW wind turbine. By 2011, the factory will be producing a 3 MW model.
“The U.S. now leads the world in wind power with a total installed capacity of 25,170 MW. But there is more work to do to support the strides the administration has made and its goal of doubling renewable energy production in three years. Acciona is committed to providing that support and developing more wind projects in the U.S,” he says.
“Over the past few years, Acciona Energy has created a presence in the U.S. in the areas of wind, solar, and water,” added Acciona Director General Esteban Morrás and COO Alberto de Miguel. “In 2009 and beyond, we will significantly expand that presence.
The group’s visit coincides with that of the Spanish Minister of Industry, Tourism, and Commerce Miguel Sebastian. Mr. and Mr. Sebastian met briefly Tuesday to show their country’s support for sustainable development in the U.S. and the world.
Said Mr. Entrecanales:
“Sustainability, more than ever, must stand at the top of the list of priorities of every company and every government,” says Entrecanales. “Because we have witnessed in these troubled times the fall of previously unchallenged principles and concepts. So the moment has come to rethink the world, to make it different, better — more sustainable.”
The company has established manufacturing facilities in West Branch, Iowa.
Acciona Energy says it has installed 5% of the world’s wind capacity (6,037 MW) at the end of 2008 and will finish 2009 with an accumulated capacity about 7,500 MW in over 260 wind farms in 14 countries. Company wind turbines are at work in the U.S. and owns 490 MW of wind power and has an aggressive development program. Its West Branch turbine manufacturing facility, one of the company’s four such facilities in the world, has 675 MW/year of production capacity of the company’s proprietary AW-1500 1.5 MW turbines.
In thermal-electric solar energy, the company operates its own plant, Nevada Solar One, in the Nevada desert. The 64-MW installation is the largest such plant built in the world in the last 18 years. The company also has several other significant thermal-solar projects in development in the Southwest U.S.
In 2008, Acciona Energy produced 8,967,000 kWh of electricity from renewable energy sources, 93% of which was generated from wind. This energy from clean sources avoided nearly 5.5 million tons of CO2 emissions from conventional power plants.
In addition, Acciona Agua, together with American Water, rebuilt the Tampa, Fla., desalination plant. It is the largest such plant in the United States with a capacity of 108,000 m3/day. Both companies are jointly responsible for the plant’s operations for the next 18 years.
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