A Spanish consortium will start building the 102-megawatt Cerro De Hula wind farm in Honduras after securing a $159 million direct loan from the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
The consortium, made up of Gamesa Corporation (BMAD:GAM) and Iberdrola Ingeniería y Construcción, a subsidiary of Iberdrola S.A. (BMAD:
IBE), received the contract from Mesoamerica Energy, early this month to build the wind farm. Gamesa controls 76 percent of the venture, while Iberdrola owns the remaining 24 percent.
The $250 million contract not only includes the construction of the wind facility, but also the development of an electricity grid. The consortium will also perform maintenance services on the wind farm for two years from the beginning of operations in early 2012.
In addition to the $159 million loan from the Export-Import Bank, the project will also secure funds from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration.
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The Cerro De Hula wind farm will be situated in the territories of Santa Ana and San Buenaventura, 20 kilometers south of Tegucigalpa. The wind farm will use 51 Gamesa G87-2 MW wind turbines, which will be manufactured at the Spanish wind turbine manufacturer’s facilities in Pennsylvania.
«It’s a remarkable story when a Spanish company such as Gamesa invests in high-paying United States jobs in Pennsylvania and is then able to export wind turbines to customers in Central America,» said Dirk Matthys, chief executive of Gamesa Wind United States L.L.C., the North American subsidiary of Gamesa.
«Export projects are taking on a greater significance because they help support and sustain employment for our 800 Pennsylvania workers during difficult economic times,» he added.
Upon its completion, the wind farm will be the largest wind power facility in Central America and the fourth largest power producer in Honduras, capable of supplying about 6 percent of the country’s total power requirement.
Local utility Empresa Nacional de Energía Eléctrica already secured a power purchase agreement to purchase the energy generated from the facility for 20 years.
Mesoamerica Energy, which develops renewable energy projects in Central America through its local subsidiary, Energía Eólica de Honduras, handed 70 percent controlling interest to emerging markets power company Globeleq Generation Limited in January.
