Iberdrola Invests 1.4 Billion Into Wind Projects
Author: skibare5 Dec
Maybe Boone Pickens needs some advice/help from Iberdrola!!! Nobody ever heard of Iberdrola????
Spanish utility Iberdrola SA invested $1.4 billion in new wind power in the U.S. during the first nine months of 2008.
That amount compares with its investment of $1.54 billion in all of 2007, according to a company statement issued Wednesday. The investments for both years added 780 megawatts of new wind-power capacity in the U.S.
The company invested $408 million of this year’s $1.4 billion in the third quarter, bringing 334 new megawatts of U.S. wind capacity online.
As part of its $4.5 billion takeover of Energy East (NYSE: EAS) for $4.5 billion, New York’s Public Service Commission required Iberdrola to invest $200,000 million, or 100 megawatts, of wind power in New York state. The agreement was finalized in September. Each wind farm built by Iberdrola must be approved by the state on a case-by-case basis.
Energy East owns New York State Electric & Gas Co. NYSEG has 1.7 million upstate customers, including 63,000 customers in the Albany region.
Iberdrola is the second largest producer of wind power in the United States. The company had revenue of $22.8 billion in 2007. (The largest producer of wind power in the country is Florida Power & Light).
Iberdrola has 697 megawatts of wind power in advanced stages of construction in the U.S. This year, it added wind power in Illinois, Iowa, Oregon and Pennsylvania.
One Response for "Iberdrola Invests 1.4 Billion Into Wind Projects"
Spain is (I think) the most successful with wind power as a percentage of their capacity. So, these guys really do know that the ROI is there, that’s why they aren’t waiting for something else to happen.
Whether putting a small system on your roof to run part of your home power, or a giant utility scale turbine. If there’s wind resources and you need electricity, the payback is proven. At WindEnergy7.com our sales have over doubled since the government approved the Small Wind System 30% tax credit. But, before that our sales were already brisk. I did not wait on any government assistance to put wind on my home because the payback was already clear.
Personally, since I put my money in wind power for my own home.. My utility announced a 45% increase in electricity cost.. AND, the government approved and announced the Small Wind System 30% tax credit. So my 10 year ROI has gone to about a 5 year ROI from those 2 developments. But, to me, I was happy with the 10 year payback because the systems are developed for a 30 year life before a rebuild. That means worst case I was set to have 20 years of free electricity, right into my retirement years.. I love that.
Anyway, back to Spain. One thing that I have seen is pictures of Spain’s mountain ranges simply polluted with too many towers. Although I am a proponent of wind power, I love the landscape and mountains and it is a shame to see an over use of windpower covering a mountain to the point it ruins the beauty. There should be limits to this. Also, wind power has taken many hits on adoption due to developers putting large Utility Wind towers way to close to homes. These giant wind turbines should never be close to homes, that is a mistake that sets back the progress by causing problems for homeowners. Utility Scale Wind power should be VERY rural IMO. Using wind close to a home should be a quiet unobtrusive small wind system, they are quiet and will not cause any backlash against wind power progress.
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