• The avant-garde 2.3 MW facility will take up a 10-hectare site
• IBERDROLA's engineering unit has consolidated its position in the clean energy market, winning contracts worth €223.5 million in 2007

IBERDROLA Ingeniería has won a €15 million contract to build a 2.3 MW solar photovoltaic energy plant in Écija, in the Spanish province of Seville. The facility, taking up a 10-hectare site, may enter service this summer.

The project was put to tender by the Marín Group, and IBERDROLA's plant engineering unit won the bidding with an ultra-modern proposal. The plant will consist of 25 photovoltaic panels mounted on fixed structures, and will employ two new photovoltaic technologies*.

The new contract further strengthens the outstanding position of IBERDROLA Ingeniería in the clean energy field. Last year it won contracts from non-IBERDOLA clients worth a total of some €223.5 million. This business area, along with electricity grids and conventional power stations, is a pillar of the firm's 2008-2010 growth strategy.

Last year the unit won four contracts to build photovoltaic plants in Spain: a 10 MW facility in Soria, two in Cáceres of 10 MW and 20 MW, respectively, and a 4 MW installation in Toledo. All are scheduled to come on stream this year.

The Écija project also marks new progress in the company's efforts to increase its revenues from clients outside its parent IBERDROLA utility group. By 2010 it expects to derive some 76% of its sales income from outside clients, which would more than double the proportion recorded in 2006.

IBERDROLA Ingeniería posted net earnings of €54.7 million in 2007, a 64.3% increase over those of the previous year. These results reflected the excellent performance of the company, which consolidated its position as Spain's largest energy plant engineering firm.

The company's EBITDA grew by 80.1% in year-on-year terms to reach €77.8 million, and sales climbed by 50.5% to €1.17 billion. The project pipeline at the end of 2007 amounted to €2.44 billion, a rise of 141% in the year.

* Cells with a thin film of cadmium telluride along with amorphous and microcrystalline silicon, in addition to polycrystalline silicon.

Organization name: IBERDROLA Ingeniería
Country: Spain