- José Manuel Entrecanales, ACCIONA’s Chairman and CEO, presented the company's renewable energy and infrastructure solutions in response to Australia's growth and development policies
Peter Cosgrove, Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia, met with ACCIONA's Chairman & CEO José Manuel Entrecanales during his visit to Spain to discuss the company's presence in the country and the opportunities offered by the significant development of renewable energy and infrastructure in the country.
The Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia heads a delegation of senior business representatives from the European Australian Business Council (EABC) including the Minister for Regional Development, Territory and Local Government, John McVeigh. The delegation was interested in ACCIONA's track record and technology, which can be replicated to meet the needs of Australian government and state energy and infrastructure policies. The Spanish Ambassador, Manuel Cacho, accompanied the Australian as well as members of the Australian Embassy in Spain.
The meeting is part of the official visit to Spain of the Governor General of the Commonwealth and the delegation that accompanies him to close the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Spain and Australia.
One of the key instruments in the development of these bilateral relations is the Australia Spain Council Foundation, of which ACCIONA is a member and whose objective is to promote common interests and collaboration in all areas between the two countries. ACCIONA is also a member of the European Australian Business Council, one of the main Australian business forums whose mission is to boost political, diplomatic and economic relations with the countries of the European Union.
ACCIONA began operating in Australia in 2002 and since then has consolidated a significant presence in the country with emblematic renewable energy, infrastructure and water management projects. The company's commitment to growth in the country was reinforced last year with the acquisition of Geotech, a company specializing in infrastructure and engineering. ACCIONA currently employs more than 1,000 professionals at its headquarters in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth and in the projects currently underway.
The company has just commissioned its fourth wind farm in the country, Mount Gellibrand, a 132 MW facility in the state of Victoria. This wind farm is added to those of Cathedral Rocks (64 MW in South Australia), Waubra (192 MW in Victoria) and Gunning (46.5 MW in New South Wales), bringing the company's installed capacity to 434.5 MW in the country, the fourth largest after Spain, Mexico and the United States.
In the Infrastructure business, ACCIONA has emblematic projects in the country such as Legacy Way in Brisbane (Queensland) and the Pacific Highway (New South Wales) and the reorganization of the railway networks in Victoria. The company also has a strong presence in the management of the integral water cycle, with projects such as the Adelaide (South Australia) desalination plant, the Kawana (Queensland) and Kingborough (Tasmania) wastewater treatment plants and the Mundaring (Western Australia) purification plants.