One year after starting its operations, the Vientos Patagónicos wind farm has achieved a plant factor of 43% and consolidates its potential by injecting 27,132 MWh of wind power into the Punta Arenas Electric System to date.
Developed by ENAP and Pecket Energy in Cabo Negro, this complex has been achieving good levels of reliability and capacity, taking advantage of such an abundant resource in Magallanes, such as the wind. Thanks to this, it has already been able to supply energy to more than 10,000 homes a month in Punta Arenas and on track to reach its goal of reaching 15,000 homes.
According to Flavio Soares, ENAP’s Director of Operations, the main challenge now is to reduce the discharge or energy not produced, due to the limitation of dispatch by the Main System Operator. “In this way, we will increase the plant factor, which in Cabo Negro can reach up to 56%, one of the highest in the world, thinking that the average in our country is 30%,” says Soares.
The three wind turbines in the park -which stand on one side of Route 9 north, at kilometer 23- have a height of 69 meters and their blades a diameter of 112 meters. Together they can inject up to 10.35 MW of power into the system at its maximum performance, which translates into clean energy for some 15 thousand homes. “The park can still continue to grow. Once we manage to reduce the dumping, we will be able to effectively cover about 15 thousand homes. At the moment, the actual operation, considering the wind resource and the system limitations, we have been able to supply electrical energy in the order of 10,000 homes per month ”, specified David Labra, Electrical Market Engineer.
The operation of the park was highlighted by the Seremi de Energía de Magallanes, Víctor Fernández, who described it as a quantitative leap for the region. “The Vientos Patagónicos park is, without a doubt, a great advance for Magallanes, as it has meant taking a quantitative leap in terms of incorporating sustainable sources into the energy matrix which, incidentally, is diversified thanks to one of our best and most abundant natural resources: the wind. In this sense, the results that this renewable initiative is having, came to strengthen and corroborate the wind potential of the region. This is proving key to awaken the interest of investments that are already setting their sights on our Patagonia, in order to develop projects associated with green hydrogen, the fuel of the future, ”said the seremi.
The operation of the Park is carried out by Pecket Energy S.A., a company that is part of the company Vientos Patagónicos SpA. In conjunction with ENAP. Pecket Energy also owns the Cabo Negro Wind Farm, for which it has experience in operating a wind farm in the region. Similarly, Pecket has a service contract with the wind turbine technologist (Vestas) and under said contract, the latter is responsible for all maintenance activities of the three wind turbines at Vientos Patagónicos.
IMPACT ON THE REGION
The total investment for this project exceeds US $ 22 million, of which US $ 5 million were contributed by the Regional Government of Magallanes.
Its entry into operation allowed increasing the participation of Non-Conventional Renewable Energies (NCRE) from 2% to 18% in Magallanes. In the same way, the park has a concrete impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and particulate matter, thus improving the well-being and quality of life of the inhabitants of this area, especially the city of Punta Arenas and its surrounding areas. nearest areas.
According to the information provided by the seremi, from the start of operation of the park, the more than 27 thousand MWh that it has contributed to the electrical system is equivalent, for example, to stop sending 4 kilotons of CO2 into the atmosphere. “In other words, it is the absorption capacity of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) that 250 hectares of native forest have, or else, avoiding polluting emissions from about 2,200 light vehicles for a year. Clearly it is a very positive impact from the environmental and social point of view ”, specified the authority.
