• The Amherst windpark will have 20 ACCIONA Windpower turbines.
• The company already has 136 MW operational in the country, which will increase to 280 MW by the end of 2009

ACCIONA Energy has been selected by the Canadian electricity company Nova Scotia Power (NSPI) to build a 30 megawatt (MW) wind park at Amherst, on the country's east coast. The park will consist of twenty 1.5 MW ACCIONA Windpower turbines, and the facility will join the other two that have been awarded to ACCIONA in Canada. Amherst is expected to be completed by the end of 2009, doubling the 136 MW currently operational, to reach a total of 280 MW (202 MW attributable).

Both companies are finalising the signature of a long-term (25-year) energy sales contract through which ACCIONA will supply NSPI with electricity generated by the wind park. This capacity is equivalent to the consumption of some ten thousand homes. ACCIONA will have 100% ownership of the installation and will be responsible for its construction, operation and maintenance.

The Amherst wind park will be located in the county of Cumberland, in Nova Scotia on the Atlantic coast of the country. The wind turbines will be placed along the length of the Trans-Canada highway and will therefore be a visible example of renewable energy for users of that route.

"We are very pleased to have a world leader in wind development and technology building a wind farm in Nova Scotia", said Nova Scotia Power President and CEO Ralph Tedesco. "By the end of 2009, we will have five times the energy from wind supplying power to our customers. Companies such as Acciona are helping Nova Scotia bring to life our Cleaner, Greener strategy."

"Acciona is thrilled to be deploying our technology and 1.5-megawatt turbines for the Amherst Wind Energy Project," said Daniel E. DuBois, Country Manager, Acciona Energy North America. "The Amherst project is a significant milestone both in terms of meeting Canada's growing demand for electricity and for the development of clean, renewable energy. Nova Scotia has rich wind energy resources and we look forward to sharing a long and rewarding future with the residents of these terrific communities."

Six wind parks in 2009

This project will join the other two wind energy projects awarded to ACCIONA in the province of New Brunswick: Lamèque Island (49.5 MW) and Aulac (64.5 MW). Both wind parks will be also equipped with ACCIONA Windpower 1.5 MW capacity wind turbines.

The ACCIONA group already has two wind parks in the province of Alberta (Magrath and Chin Chute, both 30 MW), which it co-owns (33.3%) with the Canadian companies Suncor Energy and Enbridge, and another in the province of Ontario (Ripley, 76 MW), which it co-owns (50%) with Suncor. ACCIONA also has a large number of projects under development in Canada, as part of its strategy to reinforce the company's presence in the North American market.

Corporate Information

ACCIONA Energy is a world leader in the renewables sector with a major presence in eight technologies. It is the leading developer of wind parks, with almost 5,300 MW installed in twelve countries, either owned by the company or by other companies. Through ACCIONA Windpower it produces wind turbines using proprietary technology. It owns the biggest thermal solar plant (64 MW) built in the world in the last 17 years (in the Nevada desert) and has installed more than 40 MW of photovoltaic solar and 29 MW of thermal solar power in Spain. It owns and operates three biomass plants (33 MW) and 19 small hydro power stations (59 MW). In the field of biofuels, the company produces biodiesel based on vegetable oils and bioethanol from wine-surplus alcohol.

ACCIONA is one of the biggest Spanish corporations operating internationally, with activities in more than thirty countries in the five continents. It operates in the fields of infrastructures, renewable energies, urban and environmental services, transport and company logistics, housing development and hospital management, among others. The Group's workforce is over 35,000 worldwide and it is quoted on the selective IBEX-35 (ANA.MC) index in Spain with a capitalization of around 12 billion euros.

Organization name: Acciona
Country: Spain