Enel Green Power España (EGPE), Endesa’s renewable energy subsidiary, has connected the 8-megawatt (MW) Reformado de Pena Ventosa wind farm to the network, which has meant an investment of 9.3 million euros. It is the first that goes into production of the three that the company finalizes in Galicia.
José Bogas, CEO of Endesa, said that “Endesa has already put into operation around 300 MW of the 879 MW awarded in the auctions, and is finalizing the connection to the network of the rest of the parks by the end of the year, This demonstrates the company’s commitment to fulfill the commitments acquired in the tenders. This is another step in Endesa’s commitment to the production of clean energy, one of the pillars of the national energy transition policy ”.
EGPE was awarded 540 MW of wind power and 339 MW of solar energy at government auctions held in May 2017, with a total investment of more than 800 million euros. At this time, the company has already connected some 400 MW (339 solar and 60 wind) to the grid, and the construction and connection of the remaining 480 MW of wind, which will be ready by the end of the year, is final.
EGPE works simultaneously in three wind farms in Galicia, all of them in the province of Lugo. East of Pena Ventosa, of 8 MW, that of Paradela, with 12 megawatts of installed power, and that of Serra das Penas, of 42 MW. The total investment exceeds 72 million euros. The park that has entered into operation is equipped with four 2 MW wind turbines of unit power, with a three-meter rotor with a diameter of 90 meters, on a 78-meter-high tower. The electrical production of the Pena Ventosa Reform will prevent the emission of some 16,500 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year.
In the construction, in which 48 people have worked, the “Sustainable Construction Site” model of Enel Green Power has been applied, including the installation of photovoltaic solar panels to cover part of the energy needs during the work. In addition, water saving measures have been adopted through the installation of deposits and rain collection systems; Once the work is finished, both the photovoltaic panels and the water saving equipment are donated to the municipality for public use. This work has also been new for the use of prefabricated elements for the construction of the shoes on which the wind turbines are based.
The construction of this renewable capacity responds to Endesa’s strategy to decarbonize its generation mix, a process whose first milestone is to reach 8.4 GW of renewable installed capacity in 2021, compared to the current 6.5 GW, with a total investment of about 2,000 million euros.
Endesa follows a facility development model that incorporates actions to create social value for the environments in which it is built, the so-called CSV (Creating Shared Value) model. Specifically, the CSV actions of the project have prioritized the incorporation of local labor, as well as hiring in the area of ??catering services and accommodation for workers.
Endesa currently manages more than 6,948 MW of renewable capacity in Spain. Of this figure, 4,710 MW are of conventional hydraulic generation. The rest, more than 2,229.8 MW, are managed through EGPE and come from wind (1,808 MW), solar (337 MW), mini-hydro (79 MW) and other renewable energy sources (14 MW).
Enel Green Power, the global renewable energy business line of the Enel Group, to which Endesa belongs, is dedicated to the development and operation of renewables worldwide, with a presence in Europe, America, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Enel Green Power is a global leader in the green energy sector with a managed capacity of about 43 GW in a generation combination that includes wind, solar, geothermal and hydroelectric, and is at the forefront of the integration of innovative technologies in power plants renewable energy.
