Iberdrola has installed an additional 22 megawatts (MW) comprising 11 Gamesa G80 wind turbines.
To this end, it has installed on the site 11 state-of-the-art Gamesa G80 wind turbines, each with 2 MW unit capacity and standing 78 metres tall.
This extension means that La Ventosa can now supply electricity to over 190,000 Mexican households and avoid some 230,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere each year.
The project, executed by IBERDROLA's engineering and construction subsidiary, has also entailed the upgrade of the wind farm's grid connection and the 230 kV transmission line owned by the Federal Commission for Electricity (CFE).
An average of 250 construction jobs was created by the extension works. La Ventosa also provides a steady income for over 150 local families and land owners.
La Ventosa wind power complex is located in the municipality of Juchitán de Zaragoza (Oaxaca), on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec which has one of the world's best wind resources.
When it was commissioned back in 2009, it became IBERDROLA's first wind farm in Mexico and also the first such facility to have been built by private initiative in the country. The wind farm is registered as a UN Clean Development Mechanism project, in the framework of the Kyoto Protocol, to stimulate sustainable development and emissions reduction.
IBERDROLA is spearheading the development of new renewable energy projects in Mexico, where it currently operates 230 MW wind power capacity. In addition to La Ventosa, the company has two other wind farms in operation: 102-MW La Venta III; and 26-MW Bii Nee Stipa.
All IBERDROLA wind farms in Mexico use Gamesa technology, one of the Group's key global suppliers.
Mexico, a strategic country for IBERDROLA Group
The IBERDROLA Group has also become a leading electricity operator in Mexico, where it has been doing business since 1998. As well as leading the way in the development of renewable energies, the company is the country's leading independent power producer, supplying 14.5% of Mexico's electricity demand, and a key player in enhancing and extending the electricity transmission infrastructure.
With 770 employees in Mexico, IBERDROLA's installed capacity is almost 5,200 megawatts (MW), mostly in gas-fired combined cycle power plants (4,987 MW), namely: Tamazunchale (1,135 MW), Golfo (1,121 MW), Monterrey (1,040 MW), Altamira (1,036 MW, La Laguna (535 MW) and Enertek (120 MW).