Today, President of the Galician Government Alberto Núñez Feijóo and GAS NATURAL FENOSA Chairman Salvador Gabarró opened the Cordal de Montouto wind farm, which was built by the energy company in the towns of Aranga (A Coruña) and Guitiriz (Lugo).
The Cordal de Montouto wind farm has six turbines and an installed capacity of 14 megawatts (MW). It will produce around 37 Gwh each year – enough to power around 12,000 homes. GAS NATURAL FENOSA invested more than €14 million in Cordal de Montouto.
This is the first non-experimental multi-turbine wind farm launched in Galicia since 2012 and the first energy company to construct in this region since 2009.
New wind power investments
During the inauguration of this facility the Chairman of GAS NATURAL FENOSA announced, “This represents the beginning of new wind investments by Gas Natural Fenosa in Galicia”. “It is another example of our contribution to the economic and energy development in this region, “added Salvador Gabarró.
The opening was attended by leading political representatives, and the Regional Minister of Economy and Industry for the Galician Government, Francisco Conde; as well as the mayor of Aranga, Alberto Platas, and the mayor of Guitiriz, Xosé Mª Teixido. GAS NATURAL FENOSA representatives included the General Manager for Wholesale Energy Business, Manuel Fernández, and the General Manager of Communication and the Chairman’s Office, Jordi Garcia Tabernero, among others.
More than 258 professionals in the construction phase
The project employed 258 people in its construction phase, from June to the end of December, before the farm was brought into operation. No accidents were recorded during this period.
During the work, continuous monitoring focused on respecting the environment and the archaeological heritage of the area was carried out, with the aim of ensuring compliance with the measures identified in the Environmental Impact Study.
The first wind farm without incentives
Cordal de Montouto is the first wind farm to be brought into operation in Spain without incentives for electricity production following the remuneration framework change that was passed in January 2012. This means that the wind farm sells its energy on the wholesale electricity market (pool) and only receives the set electricity price at any time.
In this regulatory context, GAS NATURAL FENOSA has invested in mature wind technology and an efficient project located in one of the best areas in Spain in terms of windpower resources: Galicia.
Investment in excess of 860 million euros in Galicia
The Cordal de Montouto installation is part of the company’s commitment to the region, in which it is implementing a five-year investment plan that will have reached 860 million euros by 2017. This number could rise to 1.1 billion, provided the circumstances are conducive, and regardless of any other social investments.
Besides being the first without incentives, in 2014 Cordal de Montouto became the only wind farm brought into operation in Spain, with the exception of an experimental park, Gorona del Viento, located on the El Hierro island.
294 MW of managed wind power
GAS NATURAL FENOSA is engaged in the repowering of the Cabo Vilano wind farm (A Coruña), the first of its type in Galicia. The company will modernise and optimise this wind farm, which was brought into operation in the early 1990s as one of the first to be built in Galicia. The project consists of the installation of two new turbines totalling 6 MW to replace the 22 original turbines. Besides this project, the company is continuing to process a further 288 MW of wind power in Galicia.
With the addition of Cordal de Montouto, Gas Natural Fenosa has installed 290 MW of wind power in Galicia, on 11 farms in the four provinces. It also has nine mini hydro power plants with an output of 106 MW.
