Iberdrola Leads in Wind with 7,000 MW

Spanish utility Iberdrola has passed FPL Energy to claim global leadership in wind power plant ownership for the year 2007 with over 6.9 gigawatts (GW) of peak capacity under net ownership, according to Emerging Energy Research (EER).

EER's recently released global wind power rankings show that Iberdrola added more than 1.5 GW of new wind construction in 2007, primarily driven by large-scale activations in Spain and the U.S. and more than 1.4 GW through the acquisition of ScottishPower's operating wind assets in the U.S., the UK and Ireland.

Surpassing 5 GW of cumulative wind ownership in 2007, FPL Energy continued to outpace its competitors in North America and took second place in EER's global rankings. The Florida-based utility led the North American field in new wind build for the third straight year, adding 956 megawatts (MW) of new peak capacity, in addition to consolidating its equity position in 108 MW of operating capacity in California.

Competition for third place was close as Acciona and Energias de Portugal (EDP) nearly tied at approximately 2.8 GW with Acciona coming out just above EDP. The top 20 global wind plant owners ended 2007 owning more than 32.8 GW of peak capacity combined, or approximately 35 percent of the total global installed wind plant, according to EER.

"With viable wind M&A targets dwindling, remaining at the head of the global wind rankings requires adding at least 500 MW of new wind build per year," said EER Research Director Joshua Magee.