Chilean power generator Aela Energia has achieved financial close for two Senvion wind projects, Sarco and Aurora, totaling 299 MW.
The conditional contract for the supply and installation of 93 Senvion turbines for the two projects was concluded in April 2016. The wind farms are now scheduled to be completed next year.
“Chile and South Cone South America are a key part of our strategy of international expansion,” states Jürgen Geissinger, CEO of Senvion. “With this major contract in Chile, we prove that our international markets strategy is now bearing fruits as we help new markets to reduce the cost of electricity from cleaner sources. Based on these two first Senvion orders in Chile, Senvion is now planted as a major player in Chile, and we are certain that with our future turbine generations we can add even lower-cost, high-reliability electricity to the region.”
The Sarco and Aurora wind farms are owned by Aela Energia, a joint venture between Actis (60%) and Mainstream Renewable Power (40%). For the Sarco project, Senvion will supply 50 Senvion 3.4M114 turbines with a hub height of 93 meters and a rated output of 3.4 MW each. The Sarco wind farm is located in the Atacama region of northern Chile. The Aurora project is located in the Southern Los Lagos region and will consist of 43 Senvion 3.0M122 turbines with a hub height of 119 meters and a rated output of 3.0 MW each.
Southern Chile is among the world’s most beautiful areas, but it is sparsely inhabited. There are several canyons with wild rivers that developers are targeting for hydroelectric dams to generate electricity for cities in central Chile. Hopefully, solar and wind projects such as this will make those dams unnecessary.