Enel Green Power and Gamesa make progress in the wind energy market

The renewable energy unit of Italian electric utility Enel has gotten its second wind farm in Mexico up-and-running, a facility developed and built by Spanish turbine maker Gamesa at a cost of some $160 million.

Enel Green Power said in a statement Friday that the wind farm, known as Zopiloapan – Bii Nee Stipa III and located in the southern state of Oaxaca, has an installed capacity of 70 MW and a load factor of around 40 percent.

Enel Green Power (“EGP”) has connected to the grid its second wind farm in Mexico, Zopiloapan – Bii Nee Stipa III, located in the state of Oaxaca.

Thanks to the outstanding wind conditions in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the new plant, boasting an installed capacity of 70 MW, has a load factor of around 40%, the equivalent of approximately 250 million kWh of “clean” energy each year once fully operational. Power generation from the new plant will avoid the annual emission of around 150 thousand tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.

With the start of operations of Zopiloapan – Bii Nee Stipa III, EGP is strengthening its footprint in the promising Mexican renewables market, which the Group has been present in since 2007 in the hydroelectric sector, giving it today an installed capacity of around 200 MW.

The wind farm, designed and built by Gamesa, a partner with a solid footing in the Mexican market, consists of thirty-five 2-MW Gamesa wind turbines.

A total investment of around 160 million US dollars was required to construct the Zopiloapan – Bee Nee Stipa III wind farm.

“The new wind farm, located near Bii Nee Stipa II, our 74 MW wind farm that was also launched this year,” stated Francesco Starace, CEO of Enel Green Power, “is another step forward in our growth strategy for Latin America, which is progressing in line with the established schedule.”

Enel Green Power is the Enel Group company fully dedicated to the development and management of renewable energy sources at the international level, with operations in Europe and the Americas. The company generated 22.5 billion kWh in 2011 from water, sun, wind and the Earth’s heat – enough to meet the energy needs of more than 8 million households and avoid the emission of over 16 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. Enel Green Power is a world leader in the sector thanks to its well-balanced generation mix, providing generation volumes well over the sector average. The Company has an installed capacity of over 7,700 MW from a mix of sources including wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal and biomass. Currently, EGP has some 700 operational plants in 16 countries in Europe and the Americas.

In Latin America, Enel Green Power runs renewable energy plants in Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Chile and Brazil for a total installed capacity of 901 MW. The company is currently building three plants in Brazil for a total installed capacity of 90 MW and has a 24 MW wind power plant in Costa Rica and two wind plants, totalling 144 MW, in Mexico. With its century-long experience in the field of geothermal energy, Enel Green Power is developing new opportunities in this sector. In Chile, in particular, the company is exploring several concessions for a potential capacity exceeding 100 MW.

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