ACCIONA Energy to build a wind farm for private investors in Mexico for &111 million

ACCIONA Energía has signed a contract worth $111 million (€86 million) with private investors Actis and Comexhidro for the design, engineering and construction of a 49.5 MW wind farm in Mexico.

The Ingenio wind farm, located in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca, includes, through additional contracts, the sale of the project developed by ACCIONA Energía México to its new owners, plus the operation and maintenance of the wind power complex for 15 years. 

The wind farm will be equipped with thirty-three AW77/1500 turbines of ACCIONA Windpower technology, each with rated power of 1.5 MW and a rotor diameter of 77 meters, mounted on 80-meter-high (hub height) steel towers.

Construction work on the site – near the Eurus, Oaxaca II, Oaxaca III and Oaxaca IV wind farms, all owned by ACCIONA – is planned to start in October, with completion expected in the fourth quarter of 2015. 

When completed, the Ingenio wind farm will produce enough clean energy to power 125,000 Mexican homes, while avoiding the emission of 206,000 metric tons of CO2 had the electricity come from conventional power stations.

A STRONGER PRESENCE IN MEXICO

ACCIONA Energía CEO Rafael Mateo said: “The agreement signed with Actis and Comexhidro demonstrates the company’s capacity to materialize initiatives that create value, including in EPC contracts for customers. It is a very positive agreement that strengthens our activity in Mexico, where we already have a strong presence, and where we aim to develop new projects”. 

The agreement on the Ingenio wind farm is ACCIONA Energía’s second turnkey contract in Mexico. The first contract, signed in April with a consortium including Fisterra Energy, Cemex and other private investors, involves the construction and entry into service of two wind farms in the state of Nuevo León, with a total installed capacity of 252 MW. The wind farms will be equipped with 84 ACCIONA Windpower turbines. The contract includes the operation and maintenance of the wind farms for 15 years.

To date, ACCIONA Energía has contracts to build 300 MW of wind power capacity for clients in Mexico over the next two years, all with proprietary technology.

ACCIONA Energía’s work for third parties complements its own developments in Mexico, which include four wind farms in Oaxaca totaling 556.6 MW - 28% of the country’s wind power capacity at the end of 2013, according to data from the Global Wind Energy Council.