THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - FEBRUARY 2017 by KfW IPEX-Bank and Bayerische Landesbank. Notably, however, the remaining nearly $100 million was raised from a public share issue arranged through a finance vehicle set up by UTE. By purchasing $20 million of the public shares and opening up the funding to the general public, UTE was able to cover about 30 per cent of the total project costs. This public “buy-in” approach not only raised money but was also a shrewd PR move. “Everybody was able to buy shares in the wind farm. In addition to generating huge interest from the public, it also brought a great deal of positive attention for renewables in what is a small country,” said Riedweg. It is an approach that UTE plans to replicate going forward. “They plan to do it for other projects,” noted Riedweg. “They have already used the same mechanism for a 70 MW project and plan to do the same for a third one this year.” While Nordex’s willingness to help in arranging financing and its longstanding history in the country were important, Riedweg stresses that the N117/2400’s technical capability was the key factor in securing the contract. “They had a long relationship with Nordex. A Nordex N29 turbine installed at the University of Montevideo at the end of the 1990s, is the only wind turbine that many people knew. It’s an anecdote but it contributed to the reputation of the company. But the main thing was that they liked the machines, the technology.” According to Riedweg, the Uruguay enhances its wind credentials With a population of less than 4 million people, Uruguay can be regarded as a relatively small country. Yet when it comes to wind energy, it has big plans. About six years ago it launched an initiative aimed at growing its wind power generating capacity from scratch to some 1.5 GW by the end of this year. This would see Uruguay assume the status of number one in the world in terms of wind capacity per capita – even ahead of the likes of Denmark. Under the plan, wind will join hydro as the main generating source – each representing about 40 per cent of the generating mix – with the remaining 20 per cent coming from thermal power stations and other sources. The move will help Uruguay reduce its dependency on commodities such as gas and oil, and at the same time boost its environmental credentials. The country recently took a significant step closer to its wind target with the commissioning of what is its biggest wind farm to date. Completion of the Pampa wind farm in December took Uruguay well past the 1000 MW installed wind capacity mark. Using 59 Nordex wind turbines, the plant adds 142 MW to the grid, bringing the country’s total wind generating capacity to around 1300 MW by the end of 2016. Completion of the Pampa wind farm is in many ways the high point of an energy transformation that began almost a decade ago. The transformation of Uruguay’s energy mix began during the first term (2005- 2010) of President Tabaré Vázquez, with the renewable energy plan really kicking off in earnest in 2011. Under a type of auction scheme being conducted by state utility UTE, bids for new wind capacity were accepted based on price and other factors such as local content. By all measures, the process has been very successful. For the last three years, prices of $63/MWh have been the norm – a level that would be considered very competitive in Europe even today. Commenting on the country’s strategy to boost wind capacity, Vincent Riedweg, Managing Director, Nordex Energy Uruguay S.A., who led construction of the Pampa project, said: “Wind resources are very good and it is considered to be a perfect match for hydropower because of the storage capacity of hydro. Also, studies show that the wind and rain regimes are completely uncorrelated. When there’s a lack of rain there is not necessarily a lack of wind and vice versa. So the utility considers it a good mix to have roughly 40 per cent wind, 40 per cent hydro and 20 per cent from other sources.” Nordex has played a key role in Uruguay’s wind strategy from day-1, having installed the country’s first turbine in 1999. Today it has installed a total of 309 MW in four different wind farms: Juan Pablo Terra (67 MW), Florida (50 MW), Melowind (50 MW) and Pampa (142 MW). Pampa was the ideal location for the largest of these projects for several reasons. It is located in the largest and thinly populated Department of Tacuarembo in the heart of the country, at a site that enjoys mean wind speeds of 7.9 m/s. “The wind resource was the most important driver behind the project’s location. It will give the plant a load factor of about 49 per cent. Certainly wind farms can have capacity factors above 40 per cent but 49 per cent is definitely on the high side,” noted Riedweg. “Also, it is in the north of the country where there is not a lot of generation, so the wind farm might help stabilise the network grid in the region. There is also a medium voltage line crossing the wind farm, which made the network connection very easy.” Pampa was built by Nordex under a turnkey contract that saw it supply and install 59 N117/2400 wind turbines. It was a complete package, including the steelworks and electrical substation. In addition to the supply of the turbines, Nordex was responsible for civil and electrical works (through subcontractors), installation and commissioning of the turbines and connecting them to the grid. Nordex also helped with arranging talks to help finance the project. “We helped to bring German export credit agency Euler Hermes into the game and helped to find a financing partner,” said Riedweg. The financing of the project was quite interesting. In the past, private companies that took part in the bidding process have developed most of the wind projects in the country. Pampa, however, was developed by UTE, which allowed a different approach. About 70 per cent ($224 million) of the $320 million project was funded Special Project Supplement The Pampa wind farm is the largest in Uruguay. Its recent commissioning is a major milestone in the country’s journey to reaching 1.5 GW of wind capacity by the end of this year. Junior Isles The Pampa wind farm is the largest in Uruguay
Energy Industry Times February 2017
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