Spain tops wind poll

Spanish utility

has surpassed

company

as the largest wind farm owner in the world, after record expansion of wind plant ownership to nearly 2,950 MW in 2004, according to rankings from

(EER), a Cambridge-Massachusetts based research and advisory company.

After adding 905 MW of new wind farms in 2004, Iberdrola led FPL Energy by 209 MW at the end of 2004, according to EER's annual Wind Plant Ownership Rankings. EER ranks the global top 20 wind farm owners, on a net-ownership basis, which together account for approximately one-third of wind power capacity worldwide. Enersis of Portugal made the list for the first time, while Edison Italia dropped out of the top 20 in 2004.

With Iberdrola leading the way, Spanish companies account for three out of the top five wind plant owners worldwide, five out of the top 10, and seven out of the top 20, according to EER's rankings.