Alstom has secured an order worth over Euros200 million from Scottish Power Renewables (SPR), a subsidiary of the Spanish energy group Iberdrola Renovables, to build a 217 MW extension to the Whitelee wind farm in Scotland. Under the terms of the agreement, Alstom will install 69 ECO 100 wind turbines, each with an output of 3 MW, and six ECO 74 wind turbines, each with an output of 1.67 MW, to be fully operational in May 2012. The contract includes supply, transportation, installation, commissioning, and operation & maintenance. The Whitelee extension will on it own be one of the largest onshore wind power projects in Europe, and will fix Whitelee’s position as the largest on the continent.
This is the first large order for the ECO100 and represents an important milestone for Alstom, which is in the process of constructing a wind farm for Pennant Walters in Maesgwyn, Wales, comprising of 13 ECO 80 wind turbines that will collectively generate 26 MW of power. Alstom has also recently completed a 15 MW wind farm at Clachan Flats, Scotland for Scottish Power Renewables, inaugurated on 26th July and consisting of nine ECO 74 turbines.
The Alstom/Iberdrola deal will strengthen the growing partnership between the two companies, which have formed a collaborative agreement to install wind projects in Spain over the next two years, with a 100 MW project pipeline in 2011 and a further 49 MW in 2012, and are also working on the joint development of floating deep offshore wind technology.