Verbund Green Power Iberia and Capital Energy commission the 39 MW Loma de los Pinos wind farm in Seville

It is the first of three wind farms, alongside El Barroso (Jerez) and Ayamonte (Huelva), which are expected to enter into operation this year in Andalusia

• This renewable energy facility will supply approximately 100,000 MWh of clean energy each year, equivalent to the consumption of more than 36,000 households in Andalusia, and will avoid more than 35,000 tons of CO₂ emissions annually

Madrid, 13 July 2023.- Verbund Green Power Iberia, a Spanish subsidiary of Austria’s leading utility and one of Europe’s biggest producers of renewable energy, and Capital Energy, a Spanish energy company founded over two decades ago and whose aim is to become the Iberian Peninsula’s first vertically integrated, fully renewable energy operator, have commissioned the 39 megawatt (MW) Loma de los Pinos wind farm in Lebrija (Seville).

This renewable energy facility, which is under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) signed with Statkraft, will be capable of producing close to 100,000 MWh of clean energy per year using the seven turbines supplied by General Electric, equivalent to the consumption of more than 36,000 Andalusian households, as well as avoiding the emission of more than 35,000 tonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere per year.

The construction of the Loma de los Pinos wind farm has created around 220 direct jobs during peak construction periods. In the operation and maintenance phase, the plant is also providing full-time work for eight professionals from the area.

It is also worth highlighting that, as part of the two companies’ commitment to the socio-economic development of all the areas where they conduct their business, Loma de los Pinos has led to the signing of a partnership agreement with the Lebrija Town Council, linked to the Capital Energy Territories Project and Verbund Green Power Iberia’s Local Impact Plan.

As a result, specific financial allocations are being earmarked, starting from the construction phase and now during the operation of the wind farm, to implement consensual actions. For instance, the company has sponsored the organisation of two conferences and a literary fiction prize as part of the celebration of the Nebrija Cultural Year in 2022, on the occasion of the fifth centenary of his death, and it is going to install solar panels for self-consumption in the local old people’s home.

The Loma de los Pinos wind farm is the first of three wind farms, together with those of El Barroso (in Jerez de la Frontera) and Ayamonte (in Huelva), which Verbund Green Power Iberia and Capital Energy —which hold 70% and 30% of the capital of these facilities, respectively— intend to commission this year in Andalusia.

Commitment to this community

Capital Energy has in Andalusia one of the nerve centres of its ambitious clean energy project. After all, the group develops more than 1,600 MW, both wind and solar, in this community (in particular in the provinces of Almeria, Cadiz, Granada, Huelva, Malaga and Seville), one of whose main strengths is the quality of its renewable resource, which is above the national average and which few regions can match.

Building this entire portfolio would create more than 5,900 direct jobs, a tax contribution of over 26.3 million euros and a contribution to GDP of around 380 million euros. During the operation phase and maintenance of the facilities, the company would provide permanent, quality employment for around 135 Andalusian professionals and generate an annual economic impact, via local and regional taxes, of around 3.4 million euros. It would also contribute more than 27 million euros to GDP every year.

In turn, Verbund Green Power Iberia is fully committed to developing renewable energies in Andalusia, where it has an extensive presence through a series of photovoltaic and wind power facilities already in operation, as well as projects under construction, and a portfolio of projects at an advanced stage of development. All these projects in Andalusia together account for a capacity of around 1,800 MW.

In September 2022, Verbund Green Power Iberia opened the Pinos Puente Solar Farm in Granada, which has a capacity of 147.6 MWp and will generate roughly 260 gigawatt hours of emission-free electricity per year.

In the context of its Local Impact Plan, the company has also undertaken a number of local contribution initiatives, in partnership with several municipalities in the region, including the ‘Cátedra del Puente de Pinos Puente’ and also the ‘Cátedra Gómez Moreno’, which fosters research and studies to enhance the value of the Medina Elvira archaeological site in Granada.

About Verbund

Verbund is Austria’s leading energy company and one of Europe’s leading producers of hydroelectric power. The Group generates approximately 97% of its electricity from renewable energies, chiefly hydropower.

Verbund Green Power Iberia is an electricity generation company and the Spanish subsidiary of the Verbund Group. It has been in operation in the Spanish renewable market since September 2021 and targets output of more than 3 GW by 2030 in the country. The company currently has 340 MW of renewable energy capacity under operation (250 MW photovoltaic and 90 MW wind), 110 MW under construction and a comprehensive portfolio of projects at an advanced stage of development.

About Capital Energy

In line with its commitment to Green and Fair Energy Transition, Capital Energy currently has a substantial portfolio of wind and solar projects in the Iberian Peninsula, exceeding 25 GW of power. The company is already present throughout the entire renewable energy generation value chain: from promotion, where it has a consolidated position thanks to its over 20-year history, through to construction, production, storage, operation and supply. The company has 16 offices in Spain and Portugal, where around 360 employees work.