Italian energy company Enel SpA says it is increasing its wind power resources in the Iberian Peninsula with 66 megawatts of new generating capacity.

The majority state-owned company, through its Enel Green Power subsidiary, announced last week it has inaugurated a pair of new wind farms in Spain and is adding capacity to an existing facility in Portugal.

In Spain, the company has started up the 38-megawatt Los Llanos wind farm near Burgos in the Castilla y Leon region, and the 24-megawatt Granujales wind farm, near Cadiz in the Andalusia region.

Enel said the plants' combined installed capacity of 62 megawatts have the potential to produce more than 151 gigawatt-hours of electricity each year -- enough to power more than 55,700 households -- and would prevent the emissions of 112,000 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

The Los Llanos wind farm will feature 19 wind turbines of 2 megawatts each, producing enough clean power to save 35,700 tons of oil equivalent. The Granujales wind farm will sport a dozen 2-megawatt turbines.

And in Portugal, Enel said it is adding 4 megawatts to its Alvaiazere wind farm, increasing its installed capacity to 18 megawatts. The expanded wind farm will have an estimated annual production of 50.2 gigawatt hours.

Enel Green Power Chief Executive Francesco Starace said in a statement the moves show a continuing belief in Spanish and Portuguese wind power potential.

"The launch of new wind capacity in the Iberian peninsula reinforces Enel Green Power's commitment to the development of the Spanish and Portuguese markets," he said. "Our aim in these countries is to start operating our preregistered projects, in line with the established timing schedule and projected sector growth."

The latest additions are continuing a wave of activity by the Italian utility in the two countries. It opened the 12-megawatt Alto do Marco wind farm in October, boosting Enel Green Power's total installed capacity in Portugal to 191 megawatts, including 155 megawatts of wind.

In August, it launched the 16-megawatt Valdihuelo plant in the Spanish province of Avila. In all, Enel's total capacity installed renewable energy capacity in the Iberian Peninsula stood at more than 1,700 megawatts this summer.

The moves came after Enel Green Power reported higher profits and revenues in the first nine months of 2011.

The company said its revenues were up 18 percent over the year-earlier period to $2.56 billion thanks to higher power production from its new projects, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization jumped 22.8 percent to $1.6 billion.

Starace told analysts the company is planning to stick to its full-year target of installing a total of 800 megawatts of new projects.

The percentage of Spain's total electric demand being satisfied by wind power hit a new high in November, national grid operator Red Electrica reported.

It said a historic high was set Nov. 6, when 59.6 percent of the country's 20,922 megawatts of demand was covered by the wind power, breaking the record of 54 percent set in November 2010.

Red Electrica said 51.8 percent of the country's electricity production in November came from technologies that produce zero CO2 emissions.