Iberdrola accelerates decarbonisation and builds a new wind farm in Greece within six months
Iberdrola has started the commissioning in Greece of the Askio III wind farm, located in the town of Galatini, in the region of Western Macedonia. With an installed capacity of 50 MW, it will be capable of supplying enough clean, cheap and indigenous energy to meet the annual needs of more than 54,000 homes.
In just over six months, the company has completed the installation of the 12 wind turbines that make up the wind farm, with 70-metre-long blades and a rotor diameter of 150 metres, as well as all the work necessary to connect them to the grid. In total, nearly 30 kilometres of cable have been installed, between the three internal medium-voltage circuits and the evacuation line. In addition, the Lygeri substation near the town of Kozani has been extended.
Although the plant is located in a mountainous area at an altitude of 1,500 metres above sea level and on rocky terrain, the simultaneous execution of civil works, transport and assembly of the turbines made it possible to complete the construction of the facility, which began in April, in such a short period of time. In addition, in order to speed up the commissioning process as much as possible, all the turbines were tested with the help of generators before being connected to the grid.
In this way, Iberdrola has managed to complete the project before the arrival of winter, which would have delayed the contribution of the facility's renewable production to the Greek electricity system for months, due to the heavy accumulation of snow that is common in these mountains.
During construction, the project has generated an average of 75 jobs, with peaks of up to 150 jobs, mostly local.
The Askio III wind farm has involved the participation of several Spanish companies. The Asturian company KLK and the Madrid-based company CT Ingenieros have taken part in the construction of the substation, both for the supply of certain main electrical components and for the provision and configuration of communication and control equipment. In addition, the Basque company Ormazabal has supplied part of the wind turbine cells for the wind farm. In this way, Iberdrola contributes, also with its initiatives in other countries, to the development in Spain of a competitive supply chain linked to the energy transition.
In order to minimise environmental impact, Blade Lifter technology has been used to transport the shovels. This method is based on a 10-axle trailer that incorporates an articulated platform which, in addition to rotating, can tilt vertically, making it possible to move it along existing roads and tracks. In this way, it reduces the need to build additional accesses and reduces the environmental and landscape impact. In addition, the turbines are assembled in two stages, which reduces the surface area of the platforms of each wind turbine. By using its own smaller transport crane to assemble the first section of the tower, the need for space for stockpiling the wind turbines is minimised.
This installation will share the grid connection point with the Askio II wind farm, currently under construction, which will reduce its environmental impact and facilitate the commissioning process once the plant is completed.
The Iberdrola group already has 365 MW installed in Greece. In addition to the 38 MW Askio II wind farm, which has already started to receive blades at the site, the company is developing the 18 MW Rokani project near Athens, which is currently under construction.
The Iberdrola group began its commitment to renewable energies more than two decades ago as a fundamental pillar on which to build its clean, reliable and competitive business model. Thanks to this vision, the company is today a leader in renewable energies, with more than 39,000 MW of renewable capacity installed worldwide. The company has established itself as the global benchmark in wind energy, with more than 15,000 wind turbines in operation worldwide.
Iberdrola has just announced a global investment of 17,000 million euros in renewable energies until 2025, 24% of which will be earmarked for European Union countries, excluding Spain. Of the total, more than 4.2 billion will correspond to onshore wind projects. The group expects to increase its installed renewable capacity by 12,100 MW in the coming years - 3,100 MW of onshore wind - to reach 52,000 MW in 2025.
