El parque eólico de Labraza de Aixeindar ha solicitado las licencias de obras y en el traslado de sus palas utilizará tecnología Blade Lifter
- The renewable project planned in the municipality of Oion, promoted by the company jointly owned by Iberdrola España and the Basque Energy Agency, has already obtained all the necessary permits. Building permits have been requested in Aguilar de Codés (Navarra) and Oion to start construction.
- For blade transport, Blade Lifter technology will be used. This pioneering European system tilts the blade to make its transfer easier.
- Labraza Wind Farm will be the first to be commissioned in the Basque Country since 2006 with an investment of €59 million. The project provides a boost to the supply chain of the Basque wind power industry, in which the Basque Country is a market leader.
- The installation of this 40 MW wind farm will increase the current wind capacity in the Basque Country by 26%, from 155 MW to 193 MW. Once operational, it will generate 99,679 MWh of renewable electricity per year, supplying 30,000 households and avoiding the emission of 16,300 tonnes of CO2.
Aixeindar, the company created by Iberdrola España, the Iberdrola group's distributor in Spain, and the Basque Government's Basque Energy Agency to promote renewable energy projects in the Basque Country, is making progress in the construction of the Labraza wind farm, located in the municipality of Oion in Álava.
The project, the first to be launched in the Basque Country since 2006, is moving forward with all the necessary permits: Environmental Impact Statement, Administrative Authorisation, Declaration of Public Utility, and Declaration of Public Utility Forests. Building permits have already been applied for in Navarra and Oion.
This renewable energy facility was declared of public interest by the Department of Territorial Balance and Land Use Planning of the Provincial Council of Álava-Arabako Foru Aldundia. It received a decisive boost for its future construction; the Directorate-General for Energy Policy and Mines has granted the declaration of public utility for this 40 MW facility and its evacuation infrastructure. This recognises the project’s general interest and speeds up the paperwork necessary for execution.
The Labraza wind farm has an investment of €59M, in an operation that will drive the supply chain of the Basque wind industry, a sector in which the Basque Country is the market leader.
Construction was awarded to the Navarre-based company ECAY and the wind turbines to Siemens-Gamesa, which will build the eight SG 5.0-145 (2.0) model wind turbines, each with a capacity of 5 MW, belonging to the 4X platform. The gearboxes for this model will be manufactured at the Asteasu facilities in Gipuzkoa, while the substation will be built by EDS Ingeniería y Montaje, located in Galdakao, Bizkaia. The project does not require a new evacuation line, as an existing line connected to Red Eléctrica (REE) in Laguardia will be used, meaning that no new electrical infrastructure needs to be built.
Blade Lifter technology, a European first, will be used to transport the blades and negotiate the tight bends on the road from Campezo, Álava. This technology facilitates the tilting of the blade to make transport easier. Using a hydraulic lift, the blade is raised to an angle of around 65 degrees or can even be rotated, all to prevent the wind sail effect, making it easier to navigate narrow roads with sharp bends. Transport will be carried out using a trailer truck with at least ten axles. This mechanism is incorporated behind the tractor unit, allowing both the blade to be rotated and raised vertically, while always securing the base.
This blade tilting system during transport reduces the environmental impact, so road layouts don’t need to be modified. The project works will have access to materials and equipment from the road from Campezo, Álava to Genevilla, accessing the roads of the existing wind farm in Aguilar de Codés, Navarra. Traffic won’t have to pass through Labraza.
Work is expected to begin in the last quarter of this year, and the farm is expected to be operational one year after construction starts.
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 release 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 wind power capacity currently installed in the Basque Country. Iberdrola Spain distributes 143 MW of the total 153 MW in the Basque Country at its four wind farms in the region: Oiz, Elgea, Urkilla and Badaia.
Benefits for local citizens
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 €1.2M when construction begins and a recurring income of around €230,000 per year in taxes and fees.
Options for participation and direct benefits for residents and businesses are also being considered, such as reduced energy prices, power purchase agreements with businesses near the farm, improvements to social centres, etc.
A crowdlending process is underway that will allow the people of Álava to become owners of the park, forming part of the economic investment in the project and obtaining an attractive return while promoting the transition to a more sustainable energy model
Special measures for environmental protection
The Labraza wind farm will roll out various innovative measures to protect birdlife and biodiversity, such as:
- Installing sensitive bird detection devices and wind turbine shutdown.
- Landscape restoration and environmental integration of a slope by installing a “vertical garden.”
- Integrating the landscape through natural rock ageing treatment.
- Restoring vegetation by recovering Habitats of Community Interest.
Public-private partnership for energy transition and climate change
This facility’s development is 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 both partners’ commitment to the energy transition and renewable energies.
This project is in line with the objectives of, among others, the Basque Country Energy Strategy 2030 and the Energy Transition and Climate Change Act, to strengthen the commitment to renewables and respond 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 megawatts to 900 MW by 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 least 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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