Wind energy continued to form the core of Iberdrola Renovables’ business in the first quarter, accounting for 97.1% of output.
By geographical area, the main boost came in the United States, where the company set an output record of 3.09 billion kWh, a 47.9% increase on the same period a year earlier. The US accounted for more than 40% of total output at Iberdrola Renovables between January and March 2011.
The company produced a total of 453 million kWh in the UK, a 23% increase on the first quarter of 2010, and 663 million kWh at its wind farms in the RoW area (Europe, excluding Spain and UK, and South America), an 8.7% increase. Output in Spain totalled 3.43 billion kWh, down 8.4%.
Strengthening its leading position
After adding 1,540 MW in the last 12 months, the company now has an installed capacity of 12,834 MW, strengthening its position as world leader in the renewables sector. A key feature is the international nature of the company's assets, with close to 55% of its operating capacity now located outside Spain.
The United States is the market where most installed capacity has come on stream in the last year, with an additional 900 MW bringing total installed capacity in the country to 4,727 MW. This is the company’s largest increase in installed capacity in any market outside Spain in a single year.
In Spain, Iberdrola Renovables installed 275 MW in the last 12 months, taking its total capacity there to 5,840 MW. During the first quarter, the company completed and started up the largest facility in continental Europe: the El Andévalo wind farm in Huelva, with an installed capacity of 292 MW.
Wind capacity in Spain now stands at 5,447 MW. The company also has 341 MW of small-scale hydroelectric capacity, 50 MW at its solar thermal electric plant in Puertollano (Ciudad Real), and 2 MW at its first forest biomass power plant in Corduente (Guadalajara).
By region, the largest share of installed capacity is in Castilla-La Mancha (1,981 MW), followed by Castilla-y-León (1,370 MW), Andalusia (851 MW), Galicia (627 MW), Aragon (278 MW), La Rioja (248 MW), the Basque Country (153 MW), Murcia (146 MW), Valencia (56 MW), Catalonia (50 MW), Navarre (44 MW), Cantabria (30 MW), Extremadura (5 MW) and Madrid (1 MW).
Iberdrola Renovables’ capacity in the Rest of the World area stands at 1,288 MW: 293 MW in France, 257 MW in Greece, 161 MW in Poland, 158 MW in Hungary, 116 MW in Mexico; 99 MW in Italy; 92 MW in Portugal; 63 MW in Germany and 49 MW in Brazil.
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