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Iberdrola has started to commission three of the four wind farms - Cordel-Vidural, Capiechamartín and Panondres - that it had planned for Asturias. The company is working on the construction of the fourth, Verdigueiro, following granting of the administrative authorisation, which will bring the total installed capacity to 130 MW of wind power, thereby tripling its renewable capacity in Asturias.

The wind farms consist of SG114 wind turbines, with a unit capacity of 2.62 MW: Cordel-Vidural (37 MW) is located between the municipalities of Navia, Valdés and Villayón; Capiechamartín (34 MW) is situated between Tineo and Valdés; and Panondres (21 MW) is between Villayón and Valdés. Verdigueiro (36 MW) is being built between Tineo and Villayón.

Almost all the field work and civil works have been carried out by Asturias companies such as Hormavasa and Horvalsa, Canteras Rencanos, Deymet, Excade, Posada, Méndez y Mota, Gruas Roxu and Taxus; the project has been developed by ERPASA and the wind turbine tower were manufactured at the Windar facilities in Avilés.

The construction of all these projects - with an investment of €100 M - contributes to boosting the industrial fabric and local employment, involving as many as 1,000 workers.

Once in operation, the wind farms will generate energy to supply more than 100,000 homes and avoid the emission of 65,500 t CO₂/year into the atmosphere.

A historic feat of engineering

These farms entail one of the most complex wind farm infrastructure projects in Spain. The materials (including towers, nacelles and blades) have been transported along narrow, single-track roads with numerous slopes and bends of up to almost 180º. This activity has required exhaustive planning to avoid affecting the planned works and to ensure the arrival of up to 200 daily shipments with different materials.

At an altitude of 800 metres, and in an area with constant weather shifts that have made work difficult, large wind turbines have been erected: 56-metre blades, nacelles weighing 126 tonnes and towers between 80 and 93 metres high.

Green investments to promote economic recovery and employment

Iberdrola has defined four action areas related to energy transition as its contribution to the socio-economic development of Asturias: more investment in renewables, support for job creation by creating opportunities and contracts for local industry, training young people in the skills required by the employment sectors of the future and developing new innovation projects, such as the Citizens' Innovation Platform.

Iberdrola is certain that the energy transition can be a driving force in the transformation of the industrial sector and for a green recovery in the economy and the job market. The company has thus launched an unprecedented investment plan worth €75 bn for the 2020-2025 period, with the aim of doubling its renewable capacity and taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the energy revolution faced by the world's main economies.

Investments in Spain for the period amount to around €14.3 bn, half of which (more than €7 bn), will be spent developing renewable energy projects, while more than 4.5 bn will go towards strengthening and digitalising its electricity grids.

After 20 years promoting the energy transition in Spain, Iberdrola leads in renewable energy in the country, with an installed renewable capacity exceeding 16,700 MW as of September 2020 - an amount that totals more than 35,000 MW worldwide, making its generation facilities among the cleanest in the energy sector.

With CO₂/kWh emissions already two thirds lower than the European average, the investment strategy in clean energy and grids will make Iberdrola a "carbon neutral" company in Europe by 2030.