Swiss energy services provider Alpiq acquired its first production capacities in Spain on 1 April 2011, when ownership of a 400-Megawatt unit at the Plana del Vent power station near Tarragona, some 100 kilometers south-west of Barcelona, was transferred to Alpiq for around EUR 200 million. The company was also granted the right to use the second 400-Megawatt unit for two years. Alpiq can acquire this unit on expiry of this two-year period. Alpiq already signed the purchase agreements with the seller, Gas Natural, on 12 July 2010.
Electricity for two million households
The 800-MW Plana del Vent gas-fired combined-cycle power station is capable of generating two percent of Spain's annual electricity consumption volume. This equates to the electricity requirements of some two million households. With its entry to the electricity production market Alpiq is reinforcing its activities in Spain, where it is already the largest alternative electricity supplier for large consumers via its subsidiary Alpiq Energía España S.A.U.