Bilbao's Thriving Wind Industry

Then another change of course followed: tenders were launched and a new support system has given the market the necessary impetus to resume expansion. Now Spain can reap first fruits.

In order to take the focus away from the booming countries in Northern Europe and head south, the European Wind Energy Association WindEurope has decided to hold its 2019 WindEurope Conference & Exhibition in Bilbao. More than 8,000 participants and more than 400 exhibitors are expected to attend the event.

WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson said: “The Basque Country made a conscious decision to invest in the wind industry and is reaping the benefits in investment, jobs and growth. More broadly Spain is also a leading European wind manufacturing hub, accounting for 22,000 jobs and billions in export revenue. Our bet on Bilbao is a sign of returning industry confidence. After a tough past three years, Spain’s wind energy market is now back on the map”.

Spanish Wind Energy Association (AEE) Chairman Juan Diego Díaz agreed: "Spain is the country of Southern Europe that is showing greater commitment and is strongly betting on the wind industry."

What hardly anyone knows is that the Basque Country has one of the highest concentrations of companies in the wind industry in the world. Thanks to the port, its capital Bilbao has become not only a Spanish but a European hub for the industry. In addition to giants like Iberdrola and Siemens Gamesa whose Spanish headquarters are located in Bilbao, a supply chain of more than 100 companies has established itself within a radius of less than 60 kilometres around the city. Nearly 1 million people live in the metropolitan area, a growing number of them working in wind industry - despite the region's not having best natural wind resources itself.

The government supports the development and has decided to build a large test center on site. The WINDBOX center consists of four benches, where various components for wind turbines can be tested: pitch system, generator, the blade and hub bearings and the yaw system.

Offshore wind industry is also represented on site: The Biscay Marine Energy Platform BiMEP enables offshore equipment manufacturers to test their products off the coast of Armintza (see image to the right, source: BiMEP). The country's first floating wind power plant is also to be installed there in the near future.

And there's more to come: Last year, the Haizea Wind Group started constructing a new offshore wind tower manufacturing plant in the port of Bilbao. The 48,000m² plant consists of three pavillions on Dock AZ-2 and also provides large outdoor storage spaces for finished products. The company has manufacturing presences in Spain and Argentina covering customer’s on- and offshore needs. The next step towards globalization is the opening of a green-field factory in Saudi Arabia by HWG in 2019.