Forestalia Selects GE Renewable Energy to Provide 1,200 MW of Wind Power in the Largest European Auction to Date

The Forestalia Group, through the Sociedad Aragonesa Transeuropea de Energías Renovables, has been awarded a contract by Spain’s Ministry of Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda to develop a 1,200 megawatt (MW) wind farm in Aragón.

This builds on the tender that Forestalia won in January 2016 to develop 408.5 MW of wind farms and bioenergy stations, also in Aragón, Spain. The two contracts support Forestalia’s goal to boost wind energy production in the autonomous community as well as bring renewable energy generation to an efficient, open, and competitive market.

GE Renewable Energy was selected as the technology provider supplying its wind turbines from its 3 MW product range to generate a total of 1,500 MW between the two projects. GE will manufacture the wind turbines across three European facilities, including its Engineering Center of Excellence in Barcelona. The wind turbine will be manufactured in Salzbergen, Germany, and blades by LM Wind Power, which was recently acquired by GE Renewable Energy and has production plants in Ponferrada and Castellón. The project will be supported by GE’s service center in As Pontes.

Jérôme Pécresse, President and CEO of GE Renewable Energy congratulated Forestalia on the success of the recent auctions in Spain, highlighting the importance of technology collaboration in Europe. "We are very pleased to be closely collaborating with Forestalia on a project that will drive renewable energy growth and cost competitiveness in Europe. GE is immensely proud that the turbine that will equip the future farms is a European product with the nacelle produced in Germany in addition to the towers and blades manufactured in Spain”.

Forestalia’s success in recent years is based on the great development of its projects. All of which are well under way and have been properly identified and assessed to meet all administrative and technical requirements. Forestalia provides a flexible and efficient business model that meets the needs of the renewable energy industry today.

Progress on the 2016 tender

After receiving approvals from the Government of Aragón on August 30, Forestalia is preparing for the construction of the first 300MW wind farm.

Forestalia’s Activity in Spain, Italy and France

Forestalia was founded in Zaragoza in 2011 From its Aragónese roots, Forestalia has been consolidated with a national and international focus on promoting renewable energy development. Forestalia plans to have a pellet and chip factory in Erla (Zaragoza) and has energy crops in Spain, France and Italy.