Suez Energy builds its first wind farm in ChilePublished: July 13, 2009
An investment of US$100 million, 38 MW of installed capacity and 19 wind turbines will shape this power generation initiative. The wind farm, located in the town of Ovalle, will supply Chile's Central Grid.
Suez Energy chose Monte Redondo, 300 km north of Santiago, to install its first wind farm in Chile. With an investment of US$100 million, the Andean subsidiary of GDF Suez began to install the project's first two Vesta V90 wind turbines in the Coquimbo region. Each turbine will produce 2MW of electricity. Once completed, the park will contribute 38 MW to the Central Grid (SIC).
At the moment, two wind turbines are fully installed. Testing and connection to the grid are scheduled for September and commercial operation is expected to start in November.
The project already has an approved Enviromental Impact Statement (EIS) and should allow for a reduction of CO2 emissions. The company hopes to register the plant as a Clean Development Mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol. In this way, its operation might lead to the awarding of carbon credits.
In addition to being Suez's first such project in Chile, this wind farm also signals the company's return to the Central Grid. Suez has thermoelectric plants in operation in the Northern Grid (SING) and, according to Business News Americas, is currently analysing thermal and hydro projects for the Central Grid.
The Monte Redondo wind farm is part of the agreement signed between the Suez Energy Andino subsidiary and the Spanish group Enhol. Arriving in Chile in 2006, the Spanish renewables company seeks to build wind farms and run-of-river hydro plants in various regions of the country, for an approximate 800MW. Talinay is one of its projects which, once built, will become the largest wind farm in Latin America.
Monte Redondo was originally developed by the Chilean subsidiary of the British renewable energy company Seawind. The company sold the project to Enhol this year, including the approved EIS.
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