The Labraza wind farm, part-owned by Iberdrola España, will be the first in the Basque Country with citizen participation and will pioneer environmental technology
- The renewable energy project, promoted by the company part-owned by Iberdrola España and the Basque Energy Agency, offers citizens the opportunity to participate through crowdlending
- Crowdlending is a type of collective collaborative financing that allows investors to obtain a quick return on interest generated by the wind farm. In the first phase, it is aimed at residents of Oion and Rioja Alavesa
- The Labraza wind farm will be the first to be launched in the Basque Country since 2006, with an investment of €59 million, in an operation that represents a boost for the Basque wind industry supply chain, a sector in which the region is the market leader
Aixeindar, the company created by Iberdrola España and the Basque Government's Basque Energy Agency to promote new renewable projects in the Basque Country, is moving forward with the construction of the Labraza wind farm, located in the Álava municipality of Oion. The project is already underway and its construction will not involve any traffic or passage through the municipality of Labraza.
The Labraza wind farm will be the first in the Basque Country with citizen participation and a pioneer in environmental technology
This project offers citizens the opportunity to participate through crowdlending, a type of collective collaborative financing that allows investors to obtain a quick return on their investment with interest generated by the wind farm. In the first phase, it is aimed at residents of Oion and Rioja Alavesa.
In this way, the Labraza wind farm will provide a social benefit that will allow the people of Álava to become owners of the farm, forming part of the economic investment in the project and obtaining an attractive return while promoting the transition to a more sustainable energy model.
In addition, the municipalities of Labraza and Barriobusto will have a special energy price tariff once the renewable infrastructure is up and running.
The Labraza wind farm will use Blade Lifter technology to move its blades
The project, which is already under construction, will use the most advanced technologies in environmental protection. Thus, Blade Lifter technology, a pioneer in Europe, will be used to move the blades, using the blade's inclination to make transport easier.
Using a hydraulic lift, the blade is raised to an angle of around 65 degrees, or even rotated, to avoid the wind sail effect, thus making it easier to travel on narrow roads with sharp bends or even through urban areas. This system of tilting the blades during transport reduces the environmental impact, avoiding modifications to the road layout. The project works will have access to materials and equipment from the road from Campezo (Álava) to Genevilla, via the roads of the existing wind farm in Aguilar de Codés (Navarra).
The Labraza wind farm will be the first to be commissioned in the Basque Country since 2006, with an investment of €59 million, in an operation that represents a boost for the Basque wind industry supply chain, a sector in which the Basque Country is the market leader.
The construction work has been awarded to the Navarra-based company ECAY, the wind turbines to Siemens-Gamesa and the expansion of the evacuation substation to the engineering firm EDS, both Basque companies. The project does not require an evacuation line as it will use an existing one that connects to the electrical network (REE) in Laguardia.
The installation of this 40 MW wind farm will increase the Basque Country's current installed wind power capacity by 26%, from 155 MW to 193 MW. Once operational, it will produce 99,679 MWh annually, supplying 30,000 homes with renewable energy and preventing the emission of 16,300 tCO₂ into the atmosphere.
This 40 MW project will be the first wind farm to generate 100% green energy to be commissioned in the Basque Country since 2006. Located in Álava, in the municipalities of Labraza and Barriobusto (Oion), it will add to the Basque Country's current installed wind power capacity. Iberdrola España distributes 143 MW of the total 153 MW in the Basque Country at its four wind farms: Oiz, Elgea, Urkilla and Badaia.
Benefits for local residents
The Labraza wind farm is expected to create up to 90 jobs, mainly local, during the construction phase, and will have a further positive impact and benefits for the municipalities, their residents and the businesses located near the renewable infrastructure.
The installation of the wind farm will provide the municipal coffers with an initial income of around €1.2 million when construction begins and recurring income of around €230,000 per year in taxes and fees.
Special measures for environmental protection
The Labraza wind farm takes into account various innovative measures to protect birdlife and biodiversity, such as:
- Installation of sensitive bird detection devices and wind turbine shutdown systems.
- Landscape restoration and environmental integration of a slope by installing a “vertical garden”
- Landscape integration through natural rock ageing treatment.
- Vegetation restoration with recovery of Habitats of Community Interest.
Public-private partnership for energy transition and climate change
The development of this facility represents one of the first actions taken by the company formed by Iberdrola España and the Basque Energy Agency (EVE) to promote new renewable projects in the Basque Country. Aixeindar is an example of public-private partnership and highlights the commitment of both partners to energy transition and renewable energies.
This project is in line with the objectives of, among others, the Basque Country's 2030 Energy Strategy and the Energy Transition and Climate Change Act, with the aim of strengthening the commitment to renewables and responding to the commitments established in the Paris Agreement. One of the Basque Country's objectives is to triple its renewable energy capacity by 2030, from the current 350 MW to 900 MW in 2028.
To achieve these objectives, the Basque Government, through the Basque Energy Agency, will co-invest in renewable energy parks, both wind and photovoltaic, that meet the following conditions, following the ‘EVE model’:
- There must be sufficient sun or wind.
- They have the lowest environmental impact according to technical criteria.
- They have nearby electrical evacuation infrastructure or a ‘plug’.
- The farm is economically profitable and viable.
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