Today Iberdrola, 50 Hertz and Navantia hosted the delivery celebration of the substation christened as ‘Andalucía’, which was built by Navantia entirely at the Puerto Real shipyard for Wikinger, Iberdrola's offshore wind farm in Germany, with an overall budget of €1.4 billion. 

This electricity distribution facility weighs over 8,500 tonnes, heavier than the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty combined, and will be the power core of the Wikinger offshore wind farm, a 350 MW renewable project developed by Iberdrola in the German sea with an overall budget of over €1.4 billion

In attendance with the chairmen of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, and Navantia, José Manuel Revuelta; and the European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete

The list of esteemed figures in attendance at the event included European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete; Iberdrola Chairman, Ignacio Galán; and Navantia Chairman, José Manuel Revuelta. The President of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Susana Díaz, was the guest of honour, and christened the major piece of infrastructure.

Andalusia president Susana Díaz was the guest of honour to christen this major power facility, which will be shipped this month by barge to Germany

The event at the Navantia premises in Cadiz showcased the successful delivery of the project, with all the agreed deadlines successfully achieved., The  entire structure -substation, jackets, offshore platform and piles-, weighs approximately 8,500 tonnes in total heavier than the combined weights of the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty. The substation will be shipped by barge to the German zone of the Baltic Sea during the month of August.

Substation Andalucía will become the power core of the offshore wind farm that Iberdrola is constructing in the Baltic Sea, and will distribute the electricity generated by the wind turbines operating in the open sea to shore. The Wikinger project will power the needs of 350,000 German homes per year, thus avoiding the emissions of 600,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere per year.

This engineering project of immense scope was designed by Iberdrola to withstand the extreme weather conditions in the region and comprises two sections, also referred to as superstructures, which will be employed by Iberdrola and 50Hertz, the electricity system operator in this region of Germany. The construction of the substation supported 700 jobs and, thanks to this initiative, Navantia has made headway into the offshore wind power industry.

The catalytic effect of Iberdrola on Spanish companies

During his speech, Ignacio Galán underscored the catalytic effect that Iberdrola has had on Spanish companies through this renewable energy initiative: “The prominent role of Spanish industry in this project shines brightly with the construction of the substation and its platform at these Navantia shipyards; the 29 wind turbine platforms at the Navantia shipyards at the Ferrol Ria; the piles that will secure these platforms, the wind turbine towers crafted in Avilés by the Asturian company Windar, and, last but not least, the wind turbines built by Gamesa. At Puerto Real, the execution of the contract has created jobs for hundreds of workers and involved over 120 regional companies in their capacities as suppliers”.

José Manuel Revuelta in turn emphasised that “this contract shores up Navantia's position as a benchmark constructor for offshore structures in offshore wind farm applications, a growing sector in Europe, primarily in the United Kingdom and Germany. Moreover, it allows Navantia to diversify its offer and provide work in a sector that is fully complementary to the naval sector”.

The Wikinger offshore wind farm will have an installed power capacity of 350 MW on the basis of the installation of 70 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 5 MW, at a site spanning an area of approximately 34 square kilometres. Iberdrola is developing this project in the Baltic Sea, where water depths vary between 37 and 43 metres. The project is scheduled to go online at the end of 2017.

Technical characteristics of the substation:

• 90,000 hours of engineering employed in the design.
• First offshore substation built with two topsides.
• First offshore substation designed using a six-legged pre-piled jacket.
• Substation with a fully automatic and remotely controlled operating capability.
• The steel structure is nearly 2.3 times heavier than the structure of a combined cycle plant (4,550 tonnes vs. 2,000 tonnes).
• The cables installed will run approximately five times longer than the cables in a land-based substation (150 kilometres vs. 32 kilometres).

About Iberdrola:

With a track record of over 170 years, today Iberdrola is one of the world's largest electricity utilities and a benchmark in renewable energies: Iberdrola produces and supplies electricity to approximately 100 million people in the countries where it operates.

After the radical transformation over the past 15 years, Iberdrola has become Europe's largest electricity utility and ranks amongst the world's top utilities in terms of market capitalisation. This is the result of the combination of its corporate vision –which in 2001 led the company to look ahead to future trends in the sector–, the strategy followed to make this vision a reality, its successful implementation, and the ethical values that have always guided all the Group's actions.

Accordingly, Iberdrola is now embarking on a new stage of growth supported by a strong investment drive between 2016 and 2020, primarily in regulated businesses or with long-term contracts, which will provide the security, stability and visibility that are the hallmarks of the company's business model. Iberdrola will continue honouring its social commitments, engaging as a driver for the growth and generation of jobs in countries where it operates, and creating sustainable value for all its stakeholder groups.

About Navantia:

Navantia is a global benchmark in the design, construction and integration of military ships equipped with vanguard technology in addition to repairs and modernisation. Moreover, the company's activity lines include designing and manufacturing Combat, Command and Control Systems; Integrated Platform Control Systems; Firing Sights, Propeller Plants and Full Life Cycle Support for all its products. While its main activity lies in the naval sector, Navantia also designs and manufacturers systems for the Army and Air Force.

Navantia pertains to the SEPI Group, a corporate holding comprising 16 publicly traded companies directly and as majority holder, employing a staff of approximately 73,000 professionals in 2014, the Spanish corporate broadcasting entity Corporación Radiotelevisión Española, which it has certain powers, and a public foundation. Moreover, SEPI holds direct minority stock in a further ten companies and indirect stock in over one hundred additional companies.