Enel Green Power Chile, a subsidiary of Enel Chile, began construction work on its new Renaico II wind power plant, located in the commune of the same name in the Araucanía Region.
This new wind energy plant is made up of two wind farms: Las Viñas wind farm of 58.5 MW and Puelche wind farm of 85.5 MW, thus reaching a total installed capacity of 144 MW.
With a total investment of 177 million dollars, Renaico II will be made up of 32 wind turbines. It should be noted that, for the construction of this park, aerial generators with hub heights of 130 meters and blades of 75 meters will be used, state-of-the-art equipment in terms of wind generation that allows greater efficiency in wind capture.
In full operation, it is estimated that the Enel wind power plant will generate 516 GWh annually, the equivalent to the energy supply of 230,000 Chilean homes, thus avoiding the emission of 382,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Lee Stancampiano, general manager of Enel Green Power Chile, stated: “We are proud to lead the current Chilean energy transition towards an increasingly clean and efficient matrix. An effort that we are carrying out today in a challenging context due to the ongoing health emergency, but which shows conviction about the benefits it has for all our stakeholders. This new wind power plant joins the 5 projects under construction (4 solar and one geothermal), complementing our diversified matrix in renewable technologies ”
The wind energy park’s construction works will last 12 months and nearly 400 people will work on them, to reach full production in June 2021.
Among the logistical challenges of this project is the transportation of the wind turbines from the ports of Lirquén and Coronel to Renaico. It is an approximate distance of 113 kilometers overland, constituting a major challenge for the transportation of the components to the park site, which must be carried out under strict security procedures.
It is worth mentioning that considering all the challenges posed by the pandemic currently underway, the construction of Renaico II is carried out under strict sanitary protocols, all in line with that dictated by the competent authority, with the intention of providing all the necessary protection to collaborators. internal and external of the company, applying social distancing measures, shift work and mandatory use of personal protection elements.
The Renaico II wind plant is part of a portfolio of renewable projects seeking to add 2GW of installed capacity to 2022. More than half of that capacity is already under construction.
