Wind

Chile’s Largest Wind Facility Opens

The El Arrayán Wind facility—located about 250 miles north of Santiago on the Chilean coast—was officially opened on Aug. 26 during a ceremony that included Chile’s president, Michelle Bachelet.

“El Arrayán is the biggest wind farm in Chile and we are pleased at what we can achieve when we use the natural resources the earth has to offer,” President Bachelet said. “This project is another step toward meeting our energy agenda objectives.  We want to have 45% of our energy come from clean energy resources by 2025.”

“Chile is a great market because of the president’s strong support for renewable energy policies, the country’s strong, stable economy and excellent natural wind resources, which can supply domestic energy to the country,” said Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Energy.

Construction was completed on the 115-MW facility in June. The site has 50 Siemens 2.3-MW wind turbines and is owned by Pattern Energy (70%) and Antofagasta Minerals S.A. (AMSA, 30%).

The project sells approximately 70% of its output to Minera Los Pelambres—a copper- and molybdenum-mining subsidiary of AMSA—through a long-term fixed-for-floating hedge. The remaining output is sold into the Chilean spot market through its connection to the Sistema Interconectado Central’s 220-kV transmission system.

“[AMSA] is demonstrating to the world that a global mining company can be a leader in clean, domestic energy,” Garland said.

The project is sited on about 15,320 acres of coastal land under a long-term lease with a single landowner. During construction, 200 jobs were created, with 15 permanent positions remaining.

Aaron Larson, associate editor (@AaronL_Power, @POWERmagazine)

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