Mexico City, Apr 29, 2009 -- EFE

Executives of Spanish power company Iberdrola announced at a meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon that they planned to open a Network and Substations Engineering Center in Mexico to develop technologies for generating wind power.

The mission of the center, whose location and opening date have not yet been determined, will be to find ways to take advantage of Mexico's potential for generating electricity from the wind, the Mexican presidential press office said in a statement.

Technologies developed at the center will be "transferred to different countries in Latin America and other continents," the press office said.

Iberdrola chairman and CEO Ignacio Sanchez Galan, Jose Luis San Pedro, director of global generation, and Gonzalo Perez, head of Iberdrola's Latin American operations, participated in the meeting with Calderon.

The meeting was held Tuesday at the official Los Pinos presidential residence, where Calderon and the executives discussed the development and expansion of renewable energy sources.

The Iberdrola executives and the Mexican leader agreed that renewable energy sources would bolster the country's energy security by diversifying "primary sources and reducing the uncertainty caused by the volatility of fuel prices," the presidential press office said.

In January, Calderon inaugurated the largest wind-power project in Latin America in the southern state of Oaxaca.

The $780 million Eurus wind farm is being developed by Mexican cement giant Cemex, Spanish energy firm Acciona Energia and Iberdrola.

Eurus, which is located in the La Ventosa region, is expected to generate 250 MW of electricity once completed.

La Ventosa is on the southern coast of the Tehuantepec Isthmus, where wind speeds can range as high as 75-120 kph (46-75 mph). EFE

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