Iberdrola becomes world's largest wind farm owner

London, 6 May: Spanish utility Iberdrola has overtaken Florida Power & Light Energy as the world's largest wind plant owner, according to new figures from Emerging Energy Research.

At the end of 2004, Iberdrola boasted 2,950 MW of wind plant capacity, according to figures from the Massachusetts-based consultancy. This follows its installation of 905 MW of new capacity in 2004 – which represents the largest ever increase in a single company's wind power capacity in any one year, the report adds.

FPL, meanwhile, added almost no new capacity last year, largely as the result of the temporary suspension of a key renewable energy tax incentive in the US – the Production Tax Credit (PTC) – leaving its total capacity almost unchanged at 2,741 MW. However, the company plans to construct 750 MW of new capacity in 2005, now that the PTC has been reintroduced.

The Spanish market illustrates the benefits of stable and generous regulatory support for wind energy – four of the five companies that added the most new capacity last year are Spanish, with Italy's Enel coming in second, the report finds.

Looking forward, Emerging Energy Research expects to see US firms MidAmerican Energy and PPM Energy (which is owned by Scottish Power) rise up through the ranks. And it predicts that new entrants, such as investment bank Goldman Sachs – via its recent acquisition of developer Zilkha – and AES/Seawest will accelerate development in 2005, making them likely to join the top 20 in 2006.