Capital Energy signs preliminary agreement with Alcoa to provide renewable energy for Galician wind farms starting 2024

Juan José Sánchez, CEO of Capital Energy

Leveraging facilities already under development in Galicia

• Capital Energy to commit to supplying San Cibrao plant for initial 10 years, thanks to commissioning of 11 wind farms with installed capacity of 573 megawatts (MW) already with grid access permit and admitted for processing
• Company has operated in Galicia since 2009 and is promoting 39 regional wind projects there with combined power of 1,000+ MW and implementation entailing overall investment of €1.2 Bn and 4,500 jobs

Santiago de Compostela, 30 December 2021.- Capital Energy, the Spanish energy company founded two decades ago that aims to become the first vertically integrated 100% renewable energy operator on the Iberian peninsula, has just taken a new step in shoring up its commitment to the socioeconomic development of Galicia.

The renewables company has been developing wind infrastructure in Galicia since 2009 and has now signed a preliminary agreement with Alcoa to supply 100% clean energy to the latter’s aluminium plant in the municipality of San Cibrao starting 2024.

Capital Energy will commit to an annual supply of 876,000 megawatt hours (MWh) per year for Alcoa at a previously established stable rate and an initial 10-year period. This is equivalent to a base load capacity of 100 MW, a quarter of the electricity consumption associated with aluminium production at San Cibrao.

Capital Energy will deliver on its commitment with the commissioning of a total of 11 of the wind farms it is currently developing in Galicia, amounting to an installed capacity of 573 MW. All these projects, which already have access to the network, have been admitted for processing and five of them -accounting for more than half of this power (295 MW)- have already been made public.

“Through this preliminary agreement for the supply of renewable energy to a customer as important to the Galician industrial fabric as Alcoa, we reaffirm our commitment not only to the energy transition but the environmental and socioeconomic wellbeing of Galicia, a region we feel very closely linked to and where we have already invested €14.9 Mn  in processing-related activities alone,” said Capital Energy chief executive Juan José Sánchez.

A renewables project and social commitment to Galicia

Capital Energy has an office in the San Lázaro district of Santiago de Compostela with 13 employees -all residents of the municipalities where the company is developing its facilities- and the capacity to triple the workforce as renewable project processing moves forward. The team was recently joined by interns from the University of Santiago (USC) complementing their academic education with work at the company following an agreement reached with the institution.

The company is processing around 39 wind farms with the Galician authorities, spread across the four provinces and totalling a combined power in excess of 1,000 MW. Their development would entail an overall investment of some €1.2 Bn and enable Capital Energy to become a major driving force in the region. Building all this renewable capacity would create almost 4,500 jobs in rural areas, add some €350 Mn to GDP and have a fiscal impact of more than €30 Mn.

In the operation and maintenance phase, the company would provide permanent, quality employment to around 170 Galician workers. Its facilities would contribute more than €12.5 Mn per year to GDP and have an annual fiscal impact on the local coffers of more than €3.7 Mn.

Capital Energy aims to pair the development of its renewable energy projects in Galicia with the launch of social and environmental action programmes pivoted to local needs to fully leverage its contribution to the socioeconomic progress of the places where it operates.

In this regard, the company recently signed its first Territories Project with the Fontemourente Community of Neighbouring Mountains in Mano Común (CMVMC), an agreement whose main objective is to improve the social and economic wellbeing of all the residents of this village in Mazaricos (La Coruña province), where it will apply a discount on local electricity bills of up to €300 per year following the start-up of the Banzas wind farm, located in the towns of Outes, Negreira and Mazaricos.

The company has also spearheaded several initiatives with social entities in Galicia, mainly focused on supporting disadvantaged groups. Of note is the signing of a framework agreement with the Persoas with Discapacidad da Bisbarra de Muros (Adisbismur) association, aimed at promoting projects that encourage the employment, social wellbeing and integration of disabled people in the district. The company has also donated material, furniture and financial funds to the Discapacitados Psíquicos de A Barcala foundation, belonging to the Negreira and A Baña municipalities and of which both are trustees.

About Capital Energy

In line with its commitment to a green and fair energy transition, Capital Energy currently has a wind and solar portfolio on the Iberian Peninsula of around 35 gigawatts (GW) of power, with more than 8.7 GW already awarded grid access permits.

Capital Energy has delivered on its strategic goal of operating across the entire renewable energy value chain: from design, where it has a consolidated position thanks to its nearly 20-year track record, to construction, production, storage, operation and supply. The company has around 400 employees in 16 offices around Spain and Portugal.