News

2022-04-05 04:29:00.0

King Felipe VI visits Iberdrola's stand at WindEurope Bilbao 22 with Ignacio Galán

Ignacio Galán offshore wind onshore wind Basque Country events

  • His Majesty the King was accompanied by the Chairman of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, to see the company's most innovative projects presented at this European renewable energy event.   
  • Until Thursday, the BEC will host the European wind industry summit WindEurope, which brings together 8,000 professionals and more than 400 technology companies.   

The annual European wind industry event, WindEurope, which brings together some 8,000 professionals and more than 400 technology companies, opened today at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre (BEC). Europe, a world leader in the sector, is promoting the rapid decarbonisation of economic activity, driven by the need to accelerate energy independence. Europe's future has never been more dependent on clean energy than it is today. Spain is considered the most important country in Europe for onshore wind energy and has a relevant roadmap for floating offshore wind.

The Chairman of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, received King Felipe VI at the company's stand to inaugurate the event. Galán showed him some of the innovative projects the company is working on. At Iberdrola we were pioneers two decades ago in onshore wind power, a technology with which we will have 18.9 GW in operation by the end of 2021. Now, offshore wind has consolidated itself as one of our major growth vectors. The visit was also attended by the lehendakari of the Basque Government, Iñigo Urkullu, and the third vice-president of the Government and minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, among other authorities.  

The entire value chain converges in Bilbao with a single message: speed up permitting in order to meet ambitious renewable energy targets.

With more than 23% of production, wind energy has become the main electricity generation technology in Spain. It is also the technology with the highest installed capacity in the Spanish energy system (28,073 MW). 

The wind sector is also a fundamental pillar of the energy transition and is key to meeting the objectives of the PNIEC, which foresees reaching 42% of energy consumption from renewables by 2030. In Spain, with more than 1,260 wind farms and some 250 industrial centres, the sector employs more than 27,600 professionals, contributing 3.1064 billion euros to the country's GDP.

At this year's edition, WindEurope presented the new technological proposals that will make it possible to harness offshore wind resources, far from the coast, by means of floating infrastructures with great stability.