Power projects developer Globeleq has opened the 44MW Eolo de Nicaragua wind farm in Central America.
The Eolo wind farm is situated in the province of Rivas on the shores of Lake Nicaragua, about 123km south of the capital Managua.
The project features 22 Gamesa G90 2MW turbines and is expected to generate 178GWh of electricity per year, equal to about 7% of all of Nicaragua’s annual electricity needs.
In addition, the wind farm is expected to displace about 110,054 tonnes of carbon emissions per year.
Electricity generated from the plant will be sold under two 20-year PPAs to national privately owned distribution firms, Distribuidora Electricidad de Sur and Distribuidora Electricidad de Norte, which are both subsidiaries of Gas Natural of Spain.
The power generated from the wind farm was connected to the national grid in November 2012.
Globeleq CEO Mikael Karlsson said: "We congratulate the government of Nicaragua and the energy sector participants for committing to the renewable energy program, which will have significant and long-term economic and environmental benefits for the people of Nicaragua."
Project debt financing is provided by FMO, the Netherlands Development Finance Company, which also acted as the lead arranger.
Proparco, the private sector investment arm of the French development body Agence Française de Développement and Deutsche Investitions und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) also provided financing for the project.
Image: The Eolo de Nicaragua wind farm will generate 178GWh of electricity per year. Photo: Courtesy of Globeleq.
.gif)
