Page 11 - AsiaElec Week 38
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AsiaElec RENEWABLES AsiaElec
Iberdrola buys into Japanese
offshore wind market
JAPAN IBERDROLA has bought Japanese offshore indicate that the market will reach 10 GW
wind developer Acacia Renewables from Mac- installed in 2030 and up to 37 GW in 2050.
quarie’s Green Investment Group in a bid to Iberdrola said it had acquired a number of
boost its exposure to offshore wind. wind projects worldwide recently as it consoli-
Acacia Renewables is currently developing dates its position as the world’s largest renewable
1.2 GW of wind capacity at two offshore wind energy company.
farms in Japan that could be operational by 2028. The company is active in the Baltic Sea
It also has four other projects in its pipeline, (Wikinger, Baltic Eagle), the North Sea (East
with a total capacity of 2.1 GW. Iberdrola will Anglia One), the Irish Sea (West of Duddon
hold an equal share in the six projects alongside Sands), the Massachusetts coast (Vineyard
GIG, and the partners will develop the portfolio. Wind), the French coast (Saint Brieuc) and,
The deal gives Iberdrola access to Japan’s off- more recently, access to 9 GW of capacity in
shore wind market, which has strong growth Sweden.
potential. In the offshore wind sector, Iberdrola already
Iberdrola said that the acquisition of the local operates wind farms in the UK and Germany,
renewable developer opens up the opportunity and the company is working on new develop-
for Iberdrola to enter the Japanese offshore wind ments in the UK, US, German and French mar-
market, which is in its early stages and has strong kets and has a 15-GW pipeline.
growth potential over the coming decades, with In 2020, Iberdrola has acquired French
a favourable investment environment. renewable energy company Aalto Power and
Installed offshore wind capacity in Japan is Australia’s Infigen, as well as gaining develop-
currently around 70 MW, but the country has ment rights for 165 MW of onshore wind power
deployed a strategy to decarbonise its energy mix in Scotland.
and promote energy independence. Forecasts
Spain’s Elecnor to build Japanese-
funded wind project in Mexico
JAPAN SPAIN’S Elecnor has won a €28.8mn ($34.1m) installation of 120 km of power lines to connect
contract to build the 56-MW Coromuel wind the high voltage towers.
farm in Mexico. The project will also involve the construction
The contract was awarded by Japan’s Eurus of 20 km of roads and more than 20 km of aerial
Energy, a joint venture between Toyota Tsusho and underground medium voltage networks.
and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holding, Work is already underway on the turbine
which has a branch in San Diego, California. foundations, roads and platforms. The project
Total investment in the Coromuel project is will increase power capacity and help green the
estimated at $100mn, equally shared between grid for Baja California Sur State, located in the
Eurus Energy and the Development Bank of southern half of the Baja California Peninsula,
Japan. which is isolated from the rest of Mexico’s inter-
The Coromuel wind farm, to be sited in the connection system.
Baja California Sur desert, will comprise 20 GE In July, Elecnor also secured a contract for the
turbines of 2.8 MW each, two 115-kV substa- construction of the 185-MW Cerro Tigre wind
tions and related infrastructure, including the farm in Chile.
Week 38 23•September•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P11
