Iberdrola’s UK subsidiary Scottish Power has signed a €200m contract with Haizea Wind Group for the supply of 50 monopiles to the East Anglia Three offshore wind farm in the UK.
Under the terms of the agreement, Haizea Wind will supply materials, provide engineering and manufacturing processes and monopile production, from its facilities in the Port of Bilbao.
The company’s manufacturing plant in the Port of Bilbao, dubbed Haizea Bilbao, currently has a 48,800m² capacity and a workforce of 500.
With the framework agreement signed with Iberdrola, the Spanish wind towers manufacturer aims to expand Haizea Bilbao to more than 200,000m² capacity.
Haizea Wind would build three additional warehouses, and a new additional storage area to house the monopiles before they are delivered to the transport vessels.
Iberdrola, Haizea Wind, and the local government officially started construction at the new manufacturing facilities, which would require an investment of more than €150m.
The expansion which involves an extension of the existing concession granted by the Port Authority will create around 350 direct new jobs at Haizea Bilbao.
Basque company Amenabar will carry out expansion works at Haizea Bilbao.
Iberdrola, in its statement, said: “With this agreement, Haizea Wind Group secures a workload in Bilbao in excess of €1.5 billion for the next four years which represents an important recognition of its technological and manufacturing capabilities.
“The 50 monopiles that Haizea Wind Group will fabricate for Iberdrola will be used to support the wind turbines of the East Anglia Three offshore wind farm in the United Kingdom.
“In total, this wind farm will have a capacity of 1.4 GW and will supply clean energy to more than one million British homes.”
The East Anglia Three project is the second of Scottish Power’s offshore wind farm projects planned to be developed as part of the 3.3GW East Anglia Hub, offshore from the Suffolk coast, UK.
Earlier this year, Iberdrola teamed up with Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, managed by Norges Bank Investment Management to invest in 1,265MW of new renewables projects in Spain.
