The order has been placed by Alba de Nicaragua S.A. (Albanisa), a private company specialised in energy generation, security services, hotels, livestock breeding, transportation, loans, port cargo handling and gas distribution.
The contract comprises supply and commissioning of the turbines, a VestasOnline® Business SCADA system as well as a five-year service and maintenance AOM 4000 agreement. The AOM 4000 is a full scope service contract, consisting of scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and consumables, which offers solid risk management for customers who want an availability guarantee measured against an agreed threshold. This type of contract offers customers assured performance avoiding unforeseen operational costs of any kind.
Delivery of the first turbines is expected to start in Q4 2012 and the project is expected to be commercially operational during Q2 2013.
“We are pleased to have selected Vestas as supplier for our first wind farm in Nicaragua. We trust that Vestas will deliver the best solutions with high-quality service and professionalism,” says Francisco Lopez, CEO of Alba de Nicaragua S.A.
Marcelo Tokman Ramos, Vice President of Vestas South America (excl. Brazil), expresses: “We are very satisfied with this new order, which confirms the continuous positive trend of wind power development in Nicaragua. It is very important for us to have been selected as the technology supplier for Alba De Nicaragua S.A’s first wind project and also considering their future portfolio, we are looking very much forward to a long-lasting collaboration between the two companies.”
“Vestas is focused on developing new business opportunities in the Latin American markets and this project is a good example of this goal. Our commitment with the expansion of the wind energy industry will bring a clean, competitive and predictable energy source into the Nicaraguan energy mix while contributing to the development of local quality employment and competencies. We are pleased to have been chosen as Alba de Nicaragua´s partner,” concludes Juan Araluce, Chief Sales Officer of Vestas Wind Systems A/S and Acting President of Vestas Mediterranean.
The wind power plants of this order will produce approx. 180 GWh per year, which corresponds to an annual emission saving of approx. 36,400 tons of CO2 compared with average Nicaraguan electricity.
It is important to mention that in September 2011 Vestas received an order for a total of 39.6 MW for La Fé – San Martin Wind Farm also in Nicaragua, which is expected to be connected to the grid in June 2012.
About Vestas
Every single day, Vestas wind turbines deliver clean energy that supports the global fight against climate change. Wind power from Vestas’ more than 46,000 wind turbines currently reduces carbon emissions by approximately 55 million tons of CO2 every year, while at the same time building energy security and independence. Today, Vestas has delivered wind energy in 69 countries, providing jobs for over 20,000 passionate people at our service and project sites, research facilities, factories and offices all over the world. With 66.9 per cent more megawatts installed than our closest competitor and more than 50,000 MW of cumulative installed capacity worldwide, Vestas is the world leader in wind energy.
Vestas in Latin America
Vestas has been present in Latin America since 1990. As of 31 December 2011, Vestas had delivered a total capacity of more than 600 MW to Latin American countries, and it had a total of firm and unconditional orders close to 2,000 MW in the Latin America region. Today, Vestas employs 130 people in Latin America and plays an active role in establishing a supply chain of local sub-suppliers delivering products and services at the different phases of the development of a wind power plant and creating local high-quality green jobs in the region.
Wind Energy in Nicaragua
Nicaragua is largely dependent on oil for electricity generation. Recently, the Ministry of Energy & Mines has announced that the target of the government is to have 51 per cent of the Nicaraguan energy needs coming from renewable energy sources by 2013. According to Emerging Energy Research (EER), Nicaragua has a wind potential of 2 GW.
Nicaragua has a world-class wind resource where wind farms have estimated capacity factors of 40%. As of today, Nicaragua has a cumulative installed capacity of 63 MW.
