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| INDUSTRY NEWS | ||
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INFRASTRUCTURE
Spain-based infrastructure designer and manager, Acciona and constructor, Grupo ACS have been granted two of the industry’s most prestigious awards for their outstanding performance in the A-30 highway project. The Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnership, a sector-wide reference organization in Canada, acknowledged the companies with a Gold Award, in the Council’s National Awards for Innovation and Excellence in Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). More...
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Spain-based energy supplier Endesa bought three formerly state-owned power plants in Ireland, which will give the company a 14 percent share of the Irish power generation market. Endesa now owns the 216 mega watts (MW) of the Great Island plant in Wexford, 590 MW of the Tarbert plant in Kerry and 450 MW of the Peaking Plant. More...
During December 2008, Acciona Energy opened a photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Amareleja (Moura, Protugal) which is capable of producing 93 million KW/h a year, equivalent to the electrical consumption of 30,000 Portuguese households. The plant will also help avoid 89,383 tons of CO2 emissions a year that would have been produced by the coal-fired power stations required to produce the same amount of power. More...
BIOTECHNOLOGY & HEALTHCARE
WATER TREATMENT, DESALINATION & ENVIRONMENT
A consortium led by Spain-based engineering specialist, Técnicas Reunidas and contractor Sacyr Vallehermoso’s subsidiary Valoriza Agua, has been awarded a contract to build and operate the second largest desalination plant in Australia. More...
MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT
Spain-based storing solution designer, Mecalux has signed a $30 million contract for the acquisition of Interlake, a U.S. manufacturer of steel pallet racks. The agreement indicates Mecalux will acquire the commercial network of production plants in Pontiac, Illinois and Sumter, South Carolina, as well as the industrial property rights of the Mexican branches of the corporation. More...
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
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| EVENTS | ||
The Midwest High Speed Rail Association Tours Spain
Team Spain Unveils B&W House to Compete in 2009 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon The prototype, named the B&W House, representing the balance between black and white, was presented on January 15, at the Cervantes Institute in New York City by Josep María Adell, Professor of Architecture at the Polytechnical University of Madrid (UPM) and project manager of Team Spain in the Solar Decathlon. More...
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| SPAIN IN THE NEWS | ||
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By Siân Harris
By Brian Merchant
By Saba
By Angela Cotey
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| THIS MONTH IN OUR BLOG | ||
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| CONTACT US | ||
If you have any suggestions about this newsletter, send an email to chicago@mcx.es.
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According to Spain’s Business Atmosphere Barometer, published by the Spain-based IESE Business School, University of Navarra, and Invest in Spain, a state owned society for the promotion and attraction of foreign investment, Spain’s business atmosphere received an overall rating of 3.6 out of 5, from international companies with offices in Spain. The surveys and research were conducted during the months of May to August 2008, compiling the opinion of foreign investors regarding the general atmosphere, expenses, infrastructures, resources and quality of life in Spain. 
A group led by Spain-based construction corporation, Grupo ACS has been chosen by the North Carolina Turnpike Authority for a possible concession to develop the Mid-Currituck toll bridge in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. ACS Infrastructures and Dragados teamed together to develop the project that is still in need of gaining local acceptance and environmental permits.
Spain surpassed its own organ donation record in 2008 achieving once again the world’s number one organ donor country with 3,945 transplants and almost 2,000 donors, according to the Health Minister, Bernat Soria. Donations increased 1.7 percent in 2009, despite road accidents, one of the main donor sources which have decreased drastically around the country. 
The Spanish-based Telecommunications Cluster, GAIA, will participate in the European Union promoted project, Galileo. This new satellite-based global navigation standard is intended to be an alternative as well as a complementary system to American GPS. 
The Spain-based telecommunications multinational Telefonica has signed a $470 million contract with DHL, a German-based market leader of the international express mail and logistics industry, to become the company’s main IT provider during the next five years. According to Telefonica, this is the largest customer contract ever signed in the European IT market. 
Members of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association (MHSRA), a membership-based non-profit organization that seeks to advocate the development of fast, frequent and dependable passenger trains in the American Midwest, visited Spain January 10 through 17. Their objective is to observe first hand why the MHSRA is labeled as, “The best example for what we should be doing with high-speed rail and rail transit in the Midwest.” 
