Iberwind best emerging renewable energy company, Europe

2. intelligent energy
Portuguese Wind Power
Natural efficiency
Portugal is one of the world’s leading countries in the
wind energy sector. The market leader talks about its
plans for sustainable development on a global scale
I
The Portuguese coast is the ideal location
to get the best results from wind turbines
berwind’s headquarters is in Oeiras, near Strategic objectives and guidelines
to Lisbon, Portugal. Its core activity is the In general terms, Iberwind’s strategic objectives and
promotion, development and operation of guidelines are:
wind energy projects. In November 2008,
a consortium led by Magnum Capital Industrial Partners • To have an efficient, lean and flexible organisation
acquired through Iberwind the majority of the wind assets adjusted to the scale of the assets under
in Portugal, formerly owned by the Australian group management.
Babcock & Brown, as well as the portfolio of service • To ensure state-of-the-art management for the wind
companies that guarantee the management, operation and farms, seeking to maximize energy generation as well
supervision of those same assets. The Iberwind shareholder as ensuring the market’s highest availability rate and
structure is mainly based on private equity funds and cost-effective operation and maintenance.
Portuguese individual shareholders. • To guarantee appropriate financial management to
44 the new economy — www.theneweconomy.com

3. mitigate the risk and provide long-term access to low-
cost funds, including attractive financing for all the
wind farms of the portfolio. “Portugal, with 3,900GW, accounts
• To create value-generating options in attractive for about five percent of the wind
European countries from a wind resource, financial energy installed capacity of the
and political perspective.
European Union ”
Mission and portfolio
Iberwind is currently the market leader of the wind energy
sector in Portugal and one of the main players of the
renewable sector in Europe. Iberwind has an excellent parameters like noise, fauna and flora, the operation and
portfolio of wind farms located in the most attractive wind maintenance procedures are planned in order to guarantee
resource areas in Portugal, resulting in outstanding energy the continuous improvement of the environmental
yields. The Iberwind mission remains to produce electricity performance of projects. An additional environmental asset
using the wind as a clean and inexhaustible source and its of Iberwind’s annual energy production is that it avoids the
goal is to achieve the maximum level of excellence and emission of one million tons of carbon dioxide as well as
efficiency in managing and operating the 31 wind farms of the consumption of one hundred and forty-seven thousand
its portfolio. equivalent tons of petroleum.
Portugal, with 3,900 GW, accounts for about five percent
of the wind energy installed capacity of the European Union. HR structure and O&M model
Iberwind has installed 680.75 MW of wind energy over the Iberwind currently employs 66 people; nearly half of them
past 12 years, which represents about 18 percent of the spread throughout the country at the 31 wind farms of the
Portuguese market in terms of installed capacity and about Iberwind portfolio. To reach a high level of operation
21 percent in terms of energy produced. Those 680.75 MW Iberwind uses a hybrid concept in terms of operation and
are divided among 31 wind farms, equipped with 331 maintenance. Basically there are operation and maintenance
turbines of 16 different models, supplied by six different contracts in place with the turbine manufacturers. However
manufacturers. Two of the wind farms (Pampilhosa and Iberwind also has its own teams that have been trained and
Candeeiros) are considered internationally to be among qualified by the suppliers to perform a certain level of
the largest in terms of on-shore installed capacity, each with operation and maintenance on the wind turbines to
over 100 MW. Iberwind has registered high installed- complement the suppliers’ duties, especially at nights and
capacity growth rates in recent years. on weekends.
Iberwind implements close supervision and operations
Social and environmental responsibility that maximise production. Iberwind has operations staff
Iberwind has a clear purpose of promoting the benefits of with training in all models of wind turbines and electric
producing clean energy from a renewable energy source, installations, as well as other areas such as meteorology,
based on technology to generate wind energy. Their wind and health and safety. Iberwind has teams of field engineers
farms extend from the north to the south of Portugal, and technicians working directly on the wind farms,
contributing to the development of local economies and operating the electrical infrastructure and wind turbines.
promoting the creation of decentralised skill centres. The These teams have fast reaction times, enabling the
wind farms are predominantly located in the central and maximisation of production and assuring the lifetime of the
northern regions of the country. equipment and compliance with all safety procedures.
Iberwind’s intervention is not confined to social and Iberwind uses a Supervision Control and Data Acquisition
economical aspects. Iberwind acknowledges that it has the (SCADA) system to control the wind farms, which was
responsibility to be proactive in its business in order to specified and developed by its own staff and later outsourced
guarantee that its projects are designed, built and operated to a software house that now supplies Iberwind with the
in an environmentally responsible way. The wind farms service and respective updates.
are designed to ensure project compatibility with
environmental values present at every site (cultural heritage, 2010 operational and financial performance
geological and geomorphic heritage, fauna and flora, Iberwind’s consolidated EBITDA in 2010 was around »
amongst others). Besides monitoring environmental ¤137m, with an annual turnover of ¤158m, generated by
summer 2011 — the new economy 45

4. intelligent energy
Portuguese wind power
provide a relevant set of benefits, notably:
• Halting the progressive and inevitable deterioration
of the operability/productivity of the wind farm,
removing the associated O&M risk and securing a
long-term O&M contract, with a positive impact on
future cash flows, particularly stability/predictability
in the medium to long-term.
• Increasing the productivity level of the Iberwind Group
portfolio, taking advantage of a site with excellent wind
resources and turning one of the portfolio’s worst
performing wind farms into one of the best (at all
levels).
• Positively contributing to the rejuvenation, operational
standardisation and market image of the Iberwind
portfolio.
• Setting an example for other (expected) similar
processes that may occur in the near future in the
Even in harsh environments wind turbines are still fully operational Iberwind Group and, most likely, among other players
in Portugal.
energy production of 1.7 TWh. The energy production
achieved in 2010 accounts for around 21 percent of the wind In May 2010 a law was passed in Portugal approving these
energy produced in Portugal and approximately three overpowering rules, encouraging the over-equipping of
percent of the electricity consumed in Portugal. existing wind farms or those in the licensing phase and
Iberwind produces around 21 percent of the wind energy enhancing the implementation of new wind power in the
in Portugal from 18 percent of the country’s wind energy country. This legislation provides for the possibility of
installed capacity. This is down to several reasons, two of installing up to 20 percent additional capacity in wind farms.
which deserve highlighting. The first reason is the fact that Iberwind is currently evaluating the technical, operational,
the Iberwind portfolio has a high load factor. The overall legal and economical feasibility of the overpowering of some
production of the 31 wind farms in 2010 was 2,511 equivalent of the wind farms of its portfolio.
hours (in terms of installed capacity), which is a very
significant number of hours by European standards. The McKinsey European Benchmarking
second reason is related to the fact that Iberwind is very Iberwind was invited by McKinsey in 2010 to participate
availability oriented. Policies and procedures were in a benchmark study that included seven other relevant
implemented in order to improve the operation and European wind energy producers. This benchmark study
maintenance efficiency of all Iberwind wind farms. A best was intended to cover the company’s business in 2008 and
practices centre has also been established in order to improve 2009 and to benchmark parameters such as availability,
wind farm performance. The result of these policies and efficiency, investment, and operation and maintenance
procedures is clearly visible in the significant and sustained costs. The final output and conclusion turned out to be
improvement of the overall level of technical availability of very favorable for Iberwind. McKinsey did not publish the
the portfolio, which has improved from 94.9 percent in 2008 ranking of the companies involved in this analysis;
to 97.1 percent in 2010, measured as the number of hours nevertheless, and based on those parameters, Iberwind was
the wind farms are really available over a year (8,760 hours) generally considered to be one of the best companies
with no deductions at all. The 2010 percentage achieved is analysed by McKinsey. tne
extremely high.
For more information:
Business development Tel: (00351) 214876700
In 2010 Iberwind began the first repowering (full Email: iberwind@iberwind.pt
replacement) and overpowering process in Portugal of a 10 www.iberwind.pt
MW to a 12 MW wind farm. This ¤12m investment will
46 the new economy — www.theneweconomy.com