Wind Energy

Acciona invests $125 million for wind farm in Costa Rica

Spanish renewable energy company, Acciona Energia, has won a tender from Costa Rica’s state-owned utility Instituto Cosstarricense de Electridad, to build, design and construct a $125 million wind power project in the country.

The Chiripa wind farm is planned for the municipality of Tilaran, in Guanacaste province in north-western Costa Rica. It will have a capacity of 49.5 megawatts and consist of thirty-three 1.5 megawatt wind turbines manufactured by Acciona.

This marks as the company’s first wind project in Costa Rica. It is working with local company Grupo Ecoenergia, which will hold a 35 percent stake in the project while Acciona will have 65 percent.

Construction on the wind park will start at the end of 2012 and production is slated to begin end of 2012. The facility is expected to produce over 200 million kilowatt hours of clean energy a year.

The project has a 20-year power purchase agreement with I.C.E., the terms which include transfer of ownership of the facility to the state utility after 20 years.

By José Santamarta, www.evwind.com