Chile: Ingeteam and Engie Group sign an O&M Full Service contract, a benchmark in the Chilean wind power sector

For the first time in the country, these services are to be provided by an independent company through Full-Service maintenance at the Monte Redondo Wind Farm, located in the region of Coquimbo in northern Chile.

This strategic project will make it possible to develop and upgrade the NCRE (Non Conventional Renewable Energies) in Chile. It is to be directed by the Spanish multi-national Ingeteam, a global leader in the provision of operation & maintenance services and responsible for the services in 25% of the total installed power in the country. The provision of this Full-Service contract is the fruit of an agreement signed with E-CL, the company owning the Monte Redondo Wind Farm and the leading electricity producer in northern Chile.

The Monte Redondo wind farm comprises twenty-four VESTAS® V90 2MW wind turbines, which were installed in 2 stages. The first stage was completed in 2010, and the second stage just a year later. Now that the warranty period established by the manufacturer has ended, Ingeteam has won the contract for the provision of comprehensive maintenance services to the entire wind farm, becoming the first independent services company to undertake the comprehensive maintenance of a wind farm in Chile.

Positioning in Chile

Since Ingeteam first started operating in Chile, 3 years' ago, the company has gone on to secure its position as a leader in the operation and maintenance of renewable energy generating plants. In Latin America, Ingeteam provides maintenance services to a total of 1.9 GW, of which 551 MW are in Chile, accounting for 25% of the country's total installed renewable power.

Ingeteam is also a leader in the solar sector in Chile, where the company provides O&M services to a total of 330 MW and has supplied PV inverters delivering more than 280 MW of power. This record figure was achieved thanks to the presence of Ingeteam in the largest plant in Latin America, located in the Atacama desert, in northern Chile, being the driest place on earth. Considering the unbeatable solar radiation levels recorded in this region, the plant is expected to generate up to 270 GWh of energy per year, which will prevent the emission of 135,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. 

Furthermore, Ingeteam's control, protection and metering systems are present in 17% of the substations responsible for transmitting the wind power generated in Chile.