Spanish Company enters into the offshore market

EHN, a major renewable energy company based in Northern Spain, signed an agreement with the Irish company Airtricity to acquire 50% of its development company for the Arklow Bank offshore wind farm (25.2 MW) in Ireland. This operation represents EHN's entry into the offshore wind energy sector, one with great prospects for the future in which the company has been driving major projects in southern Spain. In June 2003, Airtricity and GE Energy announced the signing of a co-development agreement for phase 1 of the Arklow Bank project whereby GE Energy would fund, construct, own and operate the project until certification, testing and demonstration is completed, at which time Airtricity would have the option to purchase the facility. Erection of Phase 1 (25 MW) was completed in late 2003 and testing is currently ongoing.

"This alliance with a company that shares our vision, focused on renewables, is a major step towards starting our offshore activities, through a wind farm that is already operational and capable of being extended," said EHN. International Development Director in Europe Arantza Ezpeleta. "We expect to draw interesting conclusions from it vis-a-vis future projects." Through the agreement, EHN controls 50% of the development company, subsidiary of Airtricity, that holds the right to purchase the wind farm. An extension of the facility up to 120 MW is planned. The agreement also gives Airtricity the option to acquire an equivalent interest in terms of MW in EHN's planned offshore project in Southern Spain.

The wind farm of Arklow Bank -- located 6 miles off the east coat of Ireland 60 miles south of Dublin -- has the largest turbines installed out to sea. These are GE Wind's massive 3.6 MW machines designed specifically for offshore projects. The site is a clay and sand bank at a depth of between 3 and 8 meters. It consists of seven GE Energy 3.6 MW offshore turbines, the most powerful models used in offshore wind farms. The turbines are assembled on 70.5-meter high towers with 50.5 meter long blades and a rotor diameter of 104 meters. The towers weigh 150 tons and the turbine and the rotor 290 tons, making an overall total of 440 tons for the machine. The base for the wind tower consists of 45-meter long steel piles in the seabed at a depth of around 30 meters.