By putting the Talinay win farm into service, Enel Green Power has strengthened its presence on the promising Chilean renewable energy market, where it is looking to strengthen its position in every field.
Connecting the Talinay wind farm in Chile 'is an important step for EGP', said Enel Green Power’s Country Manager in Chile Salvatore Bernabei in a recent interview, 'because this facility, with its 90 megawatts (of installed capacity), accounts for as much as 30 percent of the country's total wind power production.' With a total installed capacity of 990MW and 38 online plants, Enel Green Power is an important presence across Latin America.
Talinay consists of v90 and v100 turbines, the former having a rotor diameter of 90 metres and the latter 100 metres. It can produce more than 200 gigawatt-hours per year, avoiding 165,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in the process, and its construction required an investment of about $165 million. By putting it into service, Enel Green Power has strengthened its presence on Chile’s renewable energy market, where it was already managing the 51.4MW Pullinque and the 40.8MW Pilimaiquen hydropower plants, and now has an installed capacity of 182 MW.
The South American country is also planning on increasing its non conventional renewable energy share to 20 percent of the total by 2025. 'The Parliament is also discussing a law on electricity concessions, which will enable the speeding up of network development and help improve the integration of renewable energy sources,' Bernabei explained.
'At the end of 2013 our market share will account for about 14 percent of renewable energy production, and we aim at reaching 20 percent over the next five years,' Bernabei went on to say. 'One of our strong points is that our renewable energy supply will include hydroelectricity, PV solar and geothermal power.'
After having obtained the environmental permit for the construction of the Cerro Pabellón plant, EGP will build the first geothermal power plant in the whole of South America in the desert of Atacama, about 4,600 metres above sea level, while in the region of Antofagasta the 90MW Valle de Los Vientos wind farm is currently under construction.
worldwatch@nodo50.org
josesantamartaflorez@gmail.com