Wind Power in Chile-Laguna Verde wind farm approved and Monte Redondo wind farm opened

At the time, Monte Redondo is the largest wind farm in the country is located in the city of Ovalle, 325 km north of Santiago de Chile and will supply clean power to about 57,000 homes in the center of the country. It required an investment of U $ S 100 million and will provide power through “CGE Distribucion” for 14 years, counted from January 2010.

One of the reasons that Chile has defined a strong policy of diversifying the energy matrix has been the need to break with the historical dependence has had with the Argentine gas. In 2004, Argentina began to cut sharply its gas shipments to Chile.

The goal marked in two years is that wind energy supplies 15 percent of electricity consumption in that country.

Laguna Verde wind farm approved by COREMA

It will be developed by the company “Inversiones EW Ltda.” with an investment of U $ S 47 million. It shall consist of 12 turbines of 2 MW which will add a nominal power of 24 MW. The energy generated will deliver to the SIC through the substation-Aes Gener, Laguna Verde. The construction would begin in mid-2011.

The wind farm will be located in an area of 28, 8 hectares, in Laguna Verde, specifically at Punta Curaumilla, about 15 km south of the city of Valparaiso.

The Company “Inversiones EW Ltda.”, -dedicated to the implementation of projects of non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE)- has developed since 2006; technical, economic and environmental studies, for the construction of the project Laguna Verde wind farm.

The development manager of the executing company of the Project, highlighted the COREMA decision and announced that they will begin the next phase, the licenses of both the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) and the Ministry of Public Works (MOP).

In Chile are now being built or are in advanced stages of planning 23 wind farms totaling 1,800 MW of power. It is expected in two years to reach a share of wind energy by 15 percent, exceeding forecasts of the Law on Promotion of Non-Conventional Renewable Energies (NCRE).

Winds of change are blowing in Chile. By the end of the year, five new wind parks will begin operating in Chile, increasing the country’s wind energy production by a factor of 10.

The new wind farms will produce 180 megawatts (MW), dwarfing the 20 MW produced by Chile’s two existing wind farms, Alto Baguales and Spanish energy giant Endesa’s Canela 1, which have been operating since 2001 and 2007, respectively.

And even more wind energy is on its way. According to the National Energy Commission, new wind turbine projects in planning stages will soon generate 1,500 MW for the country’s Central Power Grid.

The largest of these planned wind farms, the Talinay wind park, will have 243 turbines, generating 500 MW of energy.

In comparison, the Ralco hydroelectric dam, in construction on the Biobío river, would generate only slightly more – 690 MW. Chilean energy company AES Gener’s Los Robles coal-fired thermoelectric plant, projected to be the largest coal-plant in Chile, would generate 750 MW.

www.cne.cl/cnewww/opencms/

www.nrel.gov/wind/pdfs/chile_regionix_pacific.pdf

www.nrel.gov/wind/pdfs/chile_regionx_pacific.pdf

www.nrel.gov/wind/pdfs/chile_regionx_lagoranco.pdf

www.nrel.gov/wind/pdfs/chile_regionx_chiloe.pdf

www.lawea.org/indexesp.php