The Spanish energy company Abengoa announced in the last few days that it had a contract to build a 70-megawatt Wind Farm in Uruguay farm worth an estimated $165 million in Uruguay. The wind farm will be built in Palomas, Uruguay and the energy it produces will meet the demands of 100,000npeople and prevent the emissions of more than 140,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year. The deal is for Abengoa to be responsible for the development and construction of the wind farm, plus operation and maintenance for two decades.
Construction will begin early next year (2014) and take 14 months to complete. This brings the number of wind farms under development by Abengoa in Uruguay to three: Two 50MW wind farms have been previously agreed under a 20-year purchase agreement with the Uruguayan state electricity company, the National Administration of Power Plants and Electrical Transmissions. The wind farm will comprise 35 turbines with a capacity of 2MW each.
A turbine supplier is yet to be chosen, but it is worth noting that in the past the company has used Vestas and Gamesa turbines on Uruguayan developments. Uruguay is at the forefront of the drive towards renewable energy in Latin America, intending to source 100% of its power from renewable sources by 2030 and 30% through the wind. The Caracoles Wind Farm in Sierra de Los Caracoles is where Uruguay’s first-large scale newest generation wind farm was designed, built and commissioned.
Abengoa is a Spanish multinational corporation and was founded in 1941 and is based in Seville, Spain. The last available figures, for 2012 show that Abengoa (and its satellite companies) employ approximately 26,500 people, operating in more than 80 countries.
