Wind Energy

Significant wind energy advances in Peru

Peru gave green light for the construction of 3 new wind farm and 4 solar power plants, for a total capacity of 220 MW, whose concessions had been offered in a bidding tender that was held at the beginning of the year. The plants will be put into service by 2012.

The announcement was made by the director general of the Energy and Mines Ministry Ismael Aragona, who specified that an assessment is being made regarding a project for the construction of a large biomass-waste plant in the area of Huaycoloro, near Lima.

As for the wind turbines farms, whose total capacity will be 140 MW, two of them shall be installed in the northern area of Talara-Guadalupe, while the third wind farm will be build in the southern region of Marcona.

The remaining 80 MW will come from four solar photovoltaic plants, all of which will be developed in the southern areas of Ilo, Arequipa e Tacna.

The electricity produced by these facilities will be purchased by distributors at feed-in tariffs, with the purpose of helping develop the renewable market. Indeed, according to Aragona, the cost of each clean kWh is still not comparable to that produced by using gas. Nonetheless, in Peru it can already be considered competitive as regards oil.

Finally, Aragona mentioned the large Inambari hydropower project, which is being developed with a capacity between 2,000 and 2,500 MW near Puerto Maldonado (region of Madre de Dios). The technical planning should be completed by October – he said – but it is necessary to wait for the results of the environmental impact assessment before carrying out negotiations with authorities and local populations and start building.

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