The Executive Chairman of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, during the event held in Bilbao

• The new Haizea Bilbao manufacturing plant, whose foundation stone was laid today by the Basque First Minister, Iñigo Urkullu, the Chairman of Haizea Wind Group, Dámaso Quintana, and the Chairman of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, will fabricate 50 monopiles for East Anglia Three offshore wind farm in the United Kingdom.
• The agreement will contribute to create 350 direct jobs for one year and represents an important recognition of the technological and productive capacities developed by Haizea Wind Group over the past five years.
• ScottishPower’s East Anglia Three offshore wind farm will have 1.4 GW capacity and will supply clean energy to more than one million UK homes.
• The expansion works of Haizea Wind manufacturing plant in the Port of Bilbao have just begun and will involve an investment of more than €150 million.

Scottish Power, an Iberdrola group company, and Haizea Wind Group, a world leader in the manufacture of wind towers, have today signed a framework agreement worth over €200 million for Haizea Bilbao to supply 50 monopiles to the East Anglia Three offshore wind farm in the United Kingdom from its facilities in the Port of Bilbao.

Also today, the Basque First Minister Iñigo Urkullu, the Chairman of Haizea Wind Group Dámaso Quintana, and the Chairman of Iberdrola Ignacio Sánchez Galán, together with other authorities, have laid the first stone of the new manufacturing facilities, which will require an investment of more than €150 million.

At present, the Group's manufacturing plant in the Port of Bilbao, Haizea Bilbao, has 48,800 square metres and 500 workers. After signing this latest contract with Iberdrola, Haizea Bilbao’s plant will now be enlarged to over 200,000 m2. 

This expansion has meant broadening the scope of the existing concession granted by the Port Authority. In addition to the three existing warehouses, Haizea Bilbao will build another three, and a new additional storage area to accommodate the monopiles before they are delivered to the transport vessels. In addition, the agreement will result in the creation of some 350 direct new jobs at Haizea Bilbao. 

With this agreement, Haizea Wind Group secures a workload in Bilbao in excess of €1.5 billion for the next 4 years which represents an important recognition of its technological and manufacturing capabilities. The 50 monopiles that Haizea Wind Group will fabricate for Iberdrola will be used to support the wind turbines of the East Anglia Three offshore wind farm in the United Kingdom. In total, this wind farm will have a capacity of 1.4 GW and will supply clean energy to more than one million British homes.

As per the agreement signed with Iberdrola, Haizea Bilbao will be responsible for the supply of materials, the engineering of the manufacturing process and monopile production. This contract and the expansion of Haizea's capacity in the Port of Bilbao are in line with Haizea Wind Group's strategic growth plan with the aim of becoming a key player in the offshore wind energy value chain and, specifically, securing a relevant position within the offshore foundation supply and manufacturing industry.

The agreement with Iberdrola, one of the market leaders in operational offshore wind power, confirms the soundness of the plan developed by Haizea Bilbao over the past few years to position itself as one of the main manufacturers of offshore wind structures (towers and foundations) while consolidating the group's commitment to becoming one of the main global suppliers to the wind industry. The Port of Bilbao will also strengthen its position as one of the most important offshore wind hubs in Southern Europe.

The Haizea Bilbao expansion works will be carried out by the Basque company Amenabar.

KeyFacts Energy: ScottishPower Renewables UK country profile   l   Iberdrola UK country profile   l   KeyFacts Renewable Energy Directory: Haizea Wind Group