Gamesa auction of 750 MW on the cards

Reports that Gamesa aims to auction off 720 MW of its wind farm portfolio by the end of the year remain unconfirmed. "The operation remains open with no decision at all yet made," says the company's Alex Otaegui. According to rumours in the business community, however, the company was poised last month to sell off 165 MW, with a subsequent 555 MW to be thrown open to bidders in the following weeks. Utilities Iberdrola and Endesa have both said they are interested in bidding if the auction comes off. Meanwhile, commentators suggest the supposed "leak" of news about an auction could be a ploy to shore up Gamesa's share value, which for the first time in a long time has only been meeting and not exceeding expectations. Gamesa first began to cash in its wind developments in 2002 when it auctioned 982 MW. The winning bid, at EUR 1000 million, came from Iberdrola, which holds a 15.5% stake in Gamesa. Gamesa says it has built 1222 MW of wind plant all told, but has signed sales agreements for 1503 MW, including the Iberdrola deal. Of the 982 MW sold to Iberdrola, 869 MW have been handed over. Furthermore, the company reports 15,000 MW in its global development pipeline, with grid connection rights clinched for over 4000 MW, chiefly in Italy (1890 MW) and Spain (1713 MW).