- ACCIONA
- Press room
- In depth
- 2010
- December
- We’ve come to a land d...
We’ve come to a land down under
12/29/2010The term "trifecta" is typically used in horseracing, but at ACCIONA it describes the successful presence of three divisions in a strategic country.
The term "trifecta" is typically used in horseracing, but at ACCIONA it describes the successful presence of three divisions in a strategic country.
ACCIONA has achieved the trifecta in Australia with established projects in renewable energy, a water project under construction and the newly awarded Northern Link infrastructure project in Brisbane. This is just the beginning. The social needs of Australia align with the Company's core businesses and represents a market of enormous opportunity for ACCIONA.
Australia is the only major economy to have avoided a technical recession during the global economic crisis andis expected to grow by 2% in 2010 up from 0.9% in 2009. The economy has weath ered the crisis well and is moving onward and upward. This has meant that the business environment in Australia has been relatively stable resulting in posi tive movement for ACCIONA.
ACCIONA already owns and operates Waubra wind farm in the state of Victoria and is a 50% JV partner in Cathedral Rocks in the state of South Australia together totaling 258 MW. Meanwhile, a new 46.5 MW wind farm is under construction near unning in the state of New South Wales. Waubra was a landmark project for ACCIONA in that it is the largest wind farm in the Southern Hemisphere, the second largest in ACCIONA's fl eet of wind farms and the fi rst in Australia to use ACCIONA Windpower wind turbine generators.
Australia is the beachhead for entry into the Asia-Pacific region.
The ACCIONA Energy team in Australia has developed a strong project portfolio that includes over 2,100 MW of wind and solar projects.
ACCIONA Agua entered the Australian market in 2007 working closely with United Utilities Australia on joint-bid projects. Early bidding efforts brought knowledge and refi nement to Australian bids that ultimately resulted in the success ful bid for the Adelaide desalination plant in the state of South Australia with the Adelaide Aqua consortium. The first be complete in 2011. ACCIONA Agua's team down under will use the Adelaide plant as a launching pad for more successes in the country. The company's two shortlistings, first as part of the Helena Water consortium, for the design, construction and opera tion of the Mundaring drinking water plant, near Perth, and second as part of the Metro Aqua consortium for the integrated man agement of water in Adelaide are a tribute to sound processes and the Company's international track record.
New motivation and confidence
After winning the Northern Link Project, ACCIONA is taking a moment to celebrate its trifecta in Australia, but the celebration also marks the beginning of more hard work ahead. With established activity in each of ACCIONA's primary divisions, the Company now moves forward in the Australian market with new motivation and confidence.
ACCIONA's Australian presence now resembles that of the corporation and like the corporation, the divisions become more than the sum of their parts. Each division begins to build a reputation and sustainable identity that the others can begin to leverage for their own business development gains. This is the international strate gic plan at work and succeeding. But Australia is more than just an end - it's also a beginning. It's the beachhead for entry into the Asia-Pacific region.
The Adelaide desalination plant- a fl agship project
ACCIONA has become a recognized player on the Australian water market in record time. "We see much more cli ent involvement. The aim is to achieve excellence. The high standard and detailed requirements of clients start in the prequalifi cation phase of each project, and continue in the bid stage", explains José Mª Ortega, Country Director for ACCIONA Agua in Australia& Asia Pacific.
As a fl agship project, the Adelaide desalination plant constitutes the Company's letter of credentials.
"The Adelaide plant is the fi rst desalination plant in the world, of this size, that uses membrane based pretreatment before the seawater goes into the reverse osmosis (RO) stage. This process substitutes other treatments like sand fi ltration and filters the water such that only particles below 5 microns go to the final RO fi ltration. The RO configuration is also very innovative: it includes 2 passes to achieve the water quality required by the client."
The sustainability principles applied in the design also helped to make Adelaide Aqua's bid a winner.
"Our proposal presented the lowest overall energy consumption, which was achieved by an innovative design developed by ACCIONA Agua. In this project the seawater has to be pumped to a 52 meter height to reach the plant and this requires a lot of energy. But we have minimized this by fi ne-tuning the ability of the plant to maximize the amount of fresh water obtained from the incom ing seawater, achieving substantial overall energy consumption savings. We also use residual water pressure after the RO to decrease the energy needs of high pressure pumps. Lastly, using the plant's elevation to an advantage, we designed an outfall system equipped with a turbine to recover some of the energy of the brine flowing downhill and back to the sea." concludes Ortega.
What makes Australia such a gook place for ACCIONA to do business?
- A strong economy and banking system.
- The Global Financial Crisis has had little impact there.
- Has the third largest volume of funds under management in the world, which provides strong access to both governmental and institutional funds.
- A very good investment profi le: low sovereign risk, high credit ratings, a transparent legal system and a stable regulatory environment.
- Government plans to invest in social infrastructure, water projects and renewable energy programs.
- Tight employment market, though ACCIONA has a good fl exible workforce that is receptive to skills transfer.
- A good beachhead from which to expand into Asia-Pacific.
Brett Thomas, Australia country manager
"We have a unique opportunity to differentiate ourselves in Australia""
As a Spain-based company, how does ACCIONA compete in the Australian market?
We position ACCIONA as a global company which brings a proud Spanish heritage with unique expertise and deep experience to projects around the world. There are a number of similarities between the way that Australians and the Spanish do business - for example, the emphasis on building relationships and a no-nonsense approach to getting the job done - that helps us compete here. Governments here have an appetite
for new international players in relevant Australian markets. They recognise that there is a lot of expertise off shore and that companies like ACCIONA stimulate competition. As a new entrant into the market, we want to bring innovative ideas to the market - particularly in the way that projects are bid and the delivery approach to construction. But we have found clients very receptive to our ideas about lowering bid costs and streamlining programs to deliver high quality outcomes over a shorter period of time.
How do you see ACCIONA's presence changing now that all three divisions are represented in the country?
We have a very broad scope now in Australia; all three divisions have active projects, and we have a presence in four of the country's six states. With guaranteed revenue streams ranging from 14 to 25 years across the business lines, we have made signifi cant progress in building a strong base. With three offi ces - in Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, we are building brand awareness and relationships with governments, industry clients, suppliers and partners that will assist all three divisions with their growth. We can also benefi t from sharing resources, gaining effi ciencies in business processes and organisational structures.
Any other insights you can offer as the Country Manager of Australia?
Australians are starting to discover Spain - not just in terms of business but also its culture and history. And so there is a lot of interest in ACCIONA - who we are, what we do and how we do it. When I talk about the family history and ownership of ACCIONA, the transition of the company over 150 years, the diversity of our business and our passion for innovation and sustainable solutions, people are genuinely amazed.
"We have a very broad scope now; all three divisions have active projects"
So we have a unique opportunity to differentiate ourselves in Australia. We can do this by building our brand and integrating ACCIONA's broader sustainability and innovation platform into our offer in Australia. We need to shift from a product focus to true delivery of social solutions based on our global expertise - fi ne-tuned for success "down under".
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