Repsol Ibereólica Renovables Chile, a company 50% owned by Repsol and the Ibereólica Renovables Group, have completed a new milestone with the start of electricity production at the Atacama wind farm, the second wind project jointly developed by the two companies, with an installed capacity of 165.3 MW.
Following its first wind farm, Cabo Leones III, with 192.5 MW, Atacama is located in the Chilean region of the same name, in the commune of Freirina, in the province of Huasco. The project consists of 29 Nordex N163 wind turbines of 5.7 MW, which have already begun to feed their first megawatt-hours of 100% renewable energy into the grid. The construction and commissioning of this facility was completed in less than twelve months.
The Atacama wind farm will produce more than 450 GWh of clean energy per year, equivalent to the average annual consumption of 150,000 homes. It will prevent more than 320,000 tons of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere annually.
Before construction, both companies signed a 14-year power purchase agreement (PPA), guaranteeing a double-digit return on this renewable generation asset.
João Paulo Costeira, Repsol’s General Manager of Low Carbon Generation, said: “This milestone will allow us to meet our growth and diversification goals in Chile, a country that offers us great Comunicado de prensa Madrid, February 13, 2023 potential for asset development as a further step towards achieving our goal of 6 GW in operation by 2025.”
Gregorio Álvarez, founder and president of Grupo Ibereólica Renovables, said: “With the commissioning of the Atacama wind farm we reinforce our joint commitment with Repsol to the decarbonisation of Chile’s energy system, with 358 MW of wind power built and already in operation in the country.”
The Atacama wind farm is part of the project portfolio in Chile of the joint venture between Repsol and the Ibereólica Renovables Group, which has more than 1,200 MW of assets in operation, construction or advanced development, with a commercial operation date up to 2025 and with the possibility of exceeding 2,600 MW in 2030.
Source: https://www.repsol.com/
Image source: Courtesy of Repsol
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