Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: First Wind Power Project to Debut in Indigenous Region

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

CARACAS, Jan 9 2012 (IPS) - Twelve wind power turbines are really to be installed in Alta Guajira, a region in northwestern Venezuela bordering on Colombia, in what will be the first phase of a wind park that will supply electricity to some 10,000 families. Most of the project beneficiaries belong to the Wayúu indigenous ethnic group, whose members live on both sides of the border. "This project, which takes advantage of the average 10-meter-per-second winds in the area, marks the debut of the use of wind power in Venezuela, and will result in savings of tens of thousands of barrels of diesel fuel," said Francisco Quintero, director of alternative energy sources at the state-owned National Electric Corporation.

The turbines, mounted on 80-meter-high posts, were purchased from the Argentine company Impsa, Quintero told Tierramérica

In just a few short weeks, the new turbines could be generating two megawatts of electricity, which will jump to 75 megawatts when the wind park is fully completed. The overall cost of the project will be around 65 million dollars.