Abengoa to develop new 70 megawatt (MW) wind farm in Uruguay

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Abengoa (MCE: ABG.B), the company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainability in the energy and environment sectors, has been selected to construct and operate a new 70 megawatt (MW) wind farm in Palomas, in the Salto region of Uruguay. The project, worth US $165 million, will enable renewable energy to be supplied to approximately 100,000 people, preventing atmospheric emissions of around 140,000 carbon dioxide (CO₂) every year. Abengoa is expected to contribute US $6 million in equity to the project.

Abengoa will be responsible for the development, engineering and construction of the plant, as well as its subsequent operation and maintenance for a 20 year period. An operational leasing agreement, under which the Uruguayan state electricity company, UTE, will make a monthly payment, will generate revenues of US $500 million by the end of the maintenance period.

Construction on the project is scheduled to start in early 2014, with an approximate duration of 14 months, according to the deadlines in the award process.

The wind farm will have 35 two-megawatt wind turbines that will generate enough energy to supply the whole of the region of Salto. The region has abundant wind that is relatively constant throughout the year, without significant fluctuations in speed, which will ensure optimum performance by the facility when it comes into operation.

Abengoa now has two 50 MW wind farms that it has been awarded in Uruguay. The first, in Peralta in the Tacuarembo region, is in the final stage of construction, while work at the second site, in Cerro Colorado in the Flores region, is about to begin. Both projects have signed 20-year power purchase agreements with the state electricity company, UTE.

This latest contract will strengthen Abengoa's position in the wind power market and will consolidate its position as the leading private wind energy developer and operator in Uruguay, where the company has been working since 1980 and has developed numerous projects. The most important of these include the extension and remodeling of the drinking water plant in Aguas Corrientes that supplies the city of Montevideo; the Montevideo to San Carlos transmission line; and the frequency converter stations in the cities of Rivera and Melo that will enable Uruguay's electricity connection with Brazil to be increased.

About Abengoa

Abengoa (MCE: ABG.B) applies innovative technology solutions for sustainability in the energy and environment sectors, generating electricity from renewable resources, converting biomass into biofuels and producing drinking water from sea water. (www.abengoa.com)

SOURCE Abengoa