Courtesy of IBERDROLA |
Iberdrola, a world leader in renewable
energy, has the wind in its sails for its American
challenge. The Spanish firm first made its mark
in the US market in 2006 with the acquisition of
two small companies in the Pennsylvania area, an
initial foothold.
The United States is now a strategic
market for the Company due to its attractive growth
potential and a tax system supporting this type
of energy. IBERDROLA already has a project portfolio
in that country of almost 5,000 megawatts (MW),
after buying Community Energy, MREC Partners and
Midwest Renewable Energy Projects. In October last
year, it signed an agreement with Spanish engineering
company Gamesa to acquire wind farms in the country
between 2007 and 2009, with a combined capacity
of 1,000 MW.
Iberdrola is one of the leading electricity
companies in Europe, with US$ 39.3 billion in market
capitalization, 30,384 MW of environmentally friendly
installed capacity.
The company has more than 100 years of history and
a vast experience throughout the value chain of
the electricity business.
Iberdrola’s retail customer
business is focused on Spain, where the company
owns 25,966 MW and has more than 10 million of points
of supply, and in Latin America, where it has 4,418
MW of installed capacity, mainly in Mexico, and
over 8 million points of supply, principally in
Brazil.
Iberdrola has become an international reference
in the renewable energy sector, in the framework
of its commitment to the environment and sustainable
development. As of today, the Company is worldwide
leader in the wind energy sector, with an installed
capacity of 4,102 MW as of December 2006. Its total
renewable installed capacity, including wind and
mini hydro sources, amounts to 4,434 MW.
Courtesy of IBERDROLA
43% of Iberdrola's
installed capacity in Spain at the end of 2003
was hydro (8,662 MW). |
Iberdrola plans to invest US$ 4.2
billion over the next three years in renewable energy,
an activity that will become the Company’s
principal driver for growth under the 2007-2009
Strategic Plan presented in October last year and
which has just come into effect.
The Company’s aim is to achieve
more than 7,000 MW in renewable generating capacity
in 2009, 84% more than in 2005, with an average
additional 800 MW installed per annum. Of the targeted
figure, 6,521 MW corresponds to wind power, and
among all renewables 1,450 MW will be located outside
Spain, making up 21% of the total.
Wind farm development accounts for
88% of the three-year investment plan in renewable
energy (US$ 4.2 billion), with 51% assigned to Spain
and 37% abroad. Iberdrola has a project pipeline
of almost 18,000 MW under development, of which
11,000 MW is in a more advanced phase with the relevant
wind resource validations having been carried out.
Iberdrola was the first Spanish electricity
company to opt for renewable energy as a strategic
priority, as a result of which it has become world
leader in the sector. The aim over the coming years
will be to continue developing the more consolidated
renewable technologies, such as wind power, while
focusing also on emerging ones. The goal is to advance
towards the full integration of renewable energy
in the system and improving efficiency.
Iberdrola’s previous Strategic
Plan for 2002-2006 was successfully implemented,
reaching the ambitious target of doubling the size
of the company.
Iberdrola investments between 2001
and 2006, amounting to US$20.1 billion (75% in Spain)
have not only allowed it to grow in size, but have
also led to a 20.1% increase in profit in the 2006
financial year, to US$2.185 billion, the largest
in its history. Since the start of the Plan, the
bottom line has risen by 95% (an increase of US$1.06
billion).
The company has assigned these investment
plans essentially to increasing Spanish and Latin
American generating capacity using combined cycle
power stations, to commissioning new renewable energy
plants, especially wind farms, and to continue improving
the distribution grid in order to maintain its leading
service quality in the sector.
Iberdrola’s performance has
won recognition from the financial community. Chairman
Ignacio Galán has been selected as the best
CEO in the European utilities industry for the last
three years by Institutional Investor magazine,
and Iberdrola has been named one of the world’s
100 most sustainable corporations. It was also the
first Spanish electricity company included in the
Dow Jones sustainability index.
Recently in New York, Iberdrola was
awarded the 2006 Platts Global Energy Award "Energy
Company of the year" and Mr. Galán received
the "CEO of the year award".
The America’s
Cup Challenge
Iberdrola, as befits a leader in wind power, is
sponsoring Spain’s entry to the America’s
Cup yacht race. Through its sponsorship of Desafío
Español 2007, a 24-meter America’s Cup
Class 5 boat, Iberdrola has symbolized its corporate
values of clean energy, efficiency, teamwork, and
determination to succeed.
The America’s Cup and its eliminatory
pre-contest, the Louis Vuitton Cup, will take place
in Valencia, Spain, through Spring and Summer this
year. Currently dominated by defending champion
Alinghi of Switzerland, Iberdrola’s boat ranks
fourth out of eleven in the build-up to the Louis
Vuitton Cup, with a good chance of qualifying for
the Louis Vuitton Cup semifinals.
The project involves all sectors
of the Spanish sailing community and is supported
by various institutions and local authorities. Promoted
by the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation and backed
by the Association of Sailing Clubs, the Iberdrola
team is a project with Spanish capital for a competition
with worldwide prestige.
With two new boats built for the
competition, Desafío Español 2007
has already made history in Spain, and its challenge
is the best yet in terms of sailing ability, technical
support, budget and training to achieve Spain’s
best result ever in this competition. Both in sporting
endeavor and in business, Iberdrola sets its course
for excellence.
|
