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Two decades of clean energy and sustainable infrastructure in Australia

Energy
20 of June, 2022

  • ACCIONA Energía hosted a celebration dinner at the National Gallery of Victoria marking the fact that for two decades ACCIONA has had a presence in  Australia.

The event was attended by employees, landowners and community members, key investors, partners, customers, and relevant industry players.

Notable guests included The Hon. Lily D ‘Ambrosio, Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, the Consul General from the Spanish Embassy, his Excellency Antonio Polidura Alvarez-Novoa and many influential industry leaders.

A special thank you to ACCIONA’s Global Chairman & CEO José Manuel Entrecanales and Rafael Mateo, CEO of ACCIONA Energía who travelled from Spain to attend.

During the event, guests were invited to tour The Picasso Century exhibition, which was introduced by Janet Whiting AM, President of the Council of Trustees of the NGV, and curator Meg Slater.

After the viewing, guests were seated in the amazing Great Hall for dinner and formalities including speeches from The Hon. Lily D ‘Ambrosio, Brett Wickham, ACCIONA Energía Managing Director in Australia and José Manuel Entrecanales.

Guests were also able to view a walking timeline that displayed milestones of the Australian energy business over the past 20 years. Starting with the construction of the Cathedral Rocks Wind Farm in South Australia in 2002, ACCIONA Energía’s first renewable energy project in the country.

In 2009, ACCIONA Energía energised operations on the Waubra Wind Farm, which produces 192 MW of clean energy, and at the time was the largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere. The week before the 20-year event, the company celebrated the commencement of construction on the MacIntyre Wind Precinct. At 1,026 MW, this project  will be  the largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere, showing the company’s growth and dedication to innovation and leadership in the industry.

Watch the below video to learn more about our history.

The event was a great success and was a memorable evening for guests.

ACCIONA chose the National Gallery of Victoria to host this milestone celebration as the company is the inaugural Sustainability partner of the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces, The Picasso Century exhibition. As Sustainability Partner, the company is collaborating with the NGV to gather insights from the sustainability performance of the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces 2022 exhibition to enhance the performance of NGV’s future events.