Gas Natural SDG : Fenosa replaces the old Cabo Vilano wind turbines with two single, powerful wind turbines and takes a step towards modernising the Galician wind farm.

• The company replaces the wind farm's 22 original wind turbines installed in the 1990's with just two new machines. This is the first Galician wind farm to upgrade its wind turbines.

• With an investment of 7.6 million euros, the two new machines have the capacity to provide power to 6,700 households, they will be more efficient and will reuse part of the existing infrastructure.

• Following completion of the works, the region's wind power potential has been maximised and the wind farm's impact on the environment and landscape has been reduced.

The wind is already turning the rotor blades of the two wind turbines at the Cabo Vilano wind farm, operated by GAS NATURAL FENOSA in the County of Camariñas (A Coruña). This is the first wind farm in Galicia where the original turbines have been replaced. These turbines were cutting-edge in the 1990s but had reached the end of their useful life. The view of the 22 old turbines has been replaced by that of two single turbines, each of 3 megawatts (MW), which is greater than the power generation potential of all the old turbines put together.

GAS NATURAL FENOSA's general manager of Wholesale Energy Business, Manuel Fernández; the general manager of the company in Galicia, Manuel Fernández Pellicer; and the director of Gas Natural Fenosa Renovables, Ana Peris,today visited the Cabo Vilano Wind Farm following completion of the repowering works. Also present was the regional minister of Economy, Employment and Industry of the Regional Government of Galicia, Francisco Conde, and the mayor of Camariñas, Valeriano Alonso.

'Cabo Vilano was one of the first wind farms built in Galicia in the early 1990s. With an investment of 7.6 million euros, it is once again at the forefront of wind power generation as it is the first wind farm in Galicia to replace its wind turbines with machines that use the latest technology and increase production at the same time as reducing the impact on the environment and landscape', explained the general manager of Wholesale Business, Manuel Fernández.

A wind farm from the 1990s

Cabo Vilano initially consisted of 22 machines: two Vestas wind turbines, with 100 and 200 kW of unit capacity (in operation since 1991) and 20 MADE wind turbines, with 180 KW of unit power - 3.6 MW in total- (in operation since 1992). The total power came to 3.9 MW.

The project has entailed the installation of two new 3 MW V-90 wind turbines, with a hub height of 80 metres and a rotor diameter of 90 metres. Together they have a maximum evacuable power of 5.46 MW, and are estimated to generate more than 20 GWh per year, equivalent to the energy consumption of some 6,700 households.

One feature of the repowering project is the use of the existing infrastructure, from the buildings (control centre, storage facilities and switching station) and roads, to the pipelines needed for the medium voltage networks, of which almost 50% were usable. The project also entailed the environmental restoration of the areas linked to the pre-existing wind farm.

During the construction phase, which started in June and lasted three months, no accidents requiring sick leave were recorded and strict safety and environmental conservation criteria were applied, respecting the environmental values and heritage of the area.

Investment in wind power in Galicia

GAS NATURAL FENOSA has 314 MW of wind power installed in Galicia, with 12 wind farms. In 2014 the company built the Cordal de Montouto Wind Farm in the counties of Aranga (A Coruña) and Guitiriz (Lugo), and recently incorporated new assets to the Galician wind farm portfolio through the acquisition of GECALSA.

The Cabo Vilano repowering project is part of GAS NATURAL FENOSA's commitment to the region, where it is implementing an investment plan that will have reached 980 million euros by 2017, almost 14% more than the investment initially forecast (860 million euros). This figure could rise to 1.1 billion, irrespective of any other social investments.

A Coruña, 14 September 2016.

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