The history-making distinction was reached after the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL) authorized the Cidreira Elebrás (70 MW) farms in Tramandaí, Rio Grande do Sul, to begin commercial operations.
The wind farm is the fiftieth Elebrás Cidreira in Brazil and part of the Incentive Program for Alternative Sources of Energy (PROINFA).
With 31 turbines, the new plant is operated by Elebrás Projetos and owned by Grupo EDP.
According to ANEEL, Brazil now has 1,006 MW of installed capacity approved, representing 0.87 percent of the country's total installed capacity of 115 GW.
A total of 429 projects in wind energy have registered for the upcoming auction of wind power capacity amounting to 10.9 GW. The country also has another 927 MW under construction.
Reaching a new peak in installed capacity was only one of the recent wind energy developments highlighted by the wind association. In fact, it wasn’t even the only news coming out of Brazil related to clean wind power.
Alstom has signed a contract worth nearly €200 million to build and service three wind farms in Brazil for Brasventos S.A., a special purpose company composed of J. Malucelli Energia, Eletrobras Eletronorte and Eletrobras Furnas .
The wind farms will be located in Rio Grande do Norte State (northeast region) with a forecast production of 580,000 MWh per year, enough to power more than 100,000 households and save more than 300,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
The scope of the order includes the supply, installation and commissioning and long-term servicing of ECO 86 wind turbines. The wind farms will be equipped with a system enabling local and remote access to wind turbine data for optimized operation and maintenance.
The wind turbine generators will be manufactured in a new manufacturing plant in Bahia, Brazil, combined with partial supplies from a plant in Buñuel, Spain.
The wind farms will feature Alstom´s ECO 86 wind turbines, ideally suited for the region's medium to high wind conditions and complex coastal terrain.
90 MW awarded to ENEL group
In other news, Enel Green Power (EGP) was awarded with 90 MW of capacity in the public tender held in Brazil to promote wind power.
The company was awarded the contract based on three projects with very high wind potential and a capacity factor of around 50 percent, among the highest in the world. This means that the wind turbines will be able to generate power for approximately twice the European average.
The contract was awarded via an auction through which only 528 MW out of around 7,000 MW authorized were awarded.
With an installed capacity of 30 MW each, Cristal, Primavera and Sao Judas -- the names of these three EGP projects -- will be able to generate over 390,000 MWh per year.
The wind farms will be constructed in the Brazilian state of Bahia and, due to their location in semi-arid areas, will enjoy incentives targeted at infrastructure development.
Through the tender, EGP also gained the right to sign a 20-year contract to sell the electricity generated by the three plants through Brazil's Chamber of Electrical Energy Commercialization at a price indexed 100% to Brazilian inflation.
Finally – at least in terms of Brazil – it has been announced that the Spanish company Gestamp Wind, signed eleven projects worth €400 million ($574 million) to bid in Brazil.
Gestamp Wind, which has participated since 2008 in eight projects in the South American country, will participate in the bidding for wind power plants held next July the Brazilian government through the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL). If it is approved, the projects represent more than 260 megawatts of wind power for the country.
Largest wind farm in Argentina’s Buenos Aires province
Elsewhere in Latin America, the first steps of what will be the installation of a wind farm located in the Argentine District of Tornquist, bordering the District of Bahía Blanca are being taken.
The project will be the largest wind farm in the Province of Buenos Aires, with projections to be the largest in the country.
A total 50 windmills of 2.1 MW each will occupy the 1000 hectares land. The project belongs to a private initiative.
Also in Argentina, SAPEM ENERSA Society (Santiago del Estero Energy Corporation with State Participation) signed the construction contract with IMPSA Argentina for the construction of a wind farm in the town of El Jume.
The project will consist of 4 turbine wind turbines of 2.1 MW each, which will be mounted on towers of 85 mt height with a blade length 43mt, adding a total installed capacity of 8.4 MW.
The contract covers engineering, supply of wind turbines, transportation, installation, commissioning and operation and maintenance of wind power plant.
Peru’s Marcona wind farm progresses
Peru’s General Directorate of Environmental Affairs Energy (DGAAE) approved the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of a proposed wind farm and transmission line in the Marcona district in the province of Ica Nazca region.
The $ 43.6 million project, which has been proposed by Windfarm Marco, includes the installation and commissioning of 16 wind turbines of 2 MW, making a total of 32 MW; the installation of a substation delivery; and installation of Transmission Line (TL) of 220 kV and 31 miles long.
The transmission line project will have 102 high-voltage towers spaced every 300 meters, to move the energy to the substation of San Juan de Marcona and supply the national grid.
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