Iberdrola Prepping for 2018 German Offshore Wind Auction

Spanish energy company Iberdrola is actively preparing to participate in the next round of offshore wind auctions in Germany scheduled for April 2018.

More precisely, Iberdrola wants to increase its portfolio of offshore wind projects in the German Baltic Sea, near the recently completed Wikinger wind farm, the company said in its financial report for the first nine months of the Fiscal Year 2017.

The 350MW Wikinger wind farm is currently in the testing phase, following the recent installation of the 70th and final Adwen 5MW turbine at the site located approximately 75km from the German mainland and close to the island of Rügen.

Iberdrola had 519MW of installed offshore wind capacity at the end of 9M FY 2017, a 169% jump compared to 194MW of installed capacity the company owned at the end of the first three quarters of FY 2016, largely attributed to the Wikinger project.

The company’s only operating offshore wind farm, the 194MW West of Duddon Sands in the UK, produced 565GWh of energy in the first nine months of 2017, a 7.1% jump compared to 527 GWh produced in the 9M FY 2016 period.

During the period, West of Duddon Sands, reached a load factor of slightly lower than 45%, in line with historical averages, Iberdrola said. The wind farm has contributed EUR 78 million to the gross margin for the period, up 6.9% from the previous period despite the depreciation of the pound of 8.4%. The increase is a result of a 7.1% increase in output compared to the previous year and the 9% increase of the sale price in local currency, Iberdrola said.