1st of many planned wind farms finally opens in Yucatan

Yucatan’s first wind farm is officially open for business. Photo: Courtesy

The Yucatan state government officially inaugurated its first sustainable energy-generation park, in Dzilam de Bravo.

“With the opening of the wind farm, Yucatan is placed at the forefront in a generation of clean energy,” according to a press release. “In the construction of this park more than US$120 million were invested and 28 wind turbines were launched that produce approximately 270 gigawatts, equivalent to the supply of 170,000 households, plus we protect the environment and we serve electric consumption in the state.”

The Yucatan Peninsula’s strong breezes and sunny climate make it ideal for solar- and wind-energy investment. But appeasing local residents and obtaining environmental and INAH permits delayed the project, which was announced in 2013 and projected to take 10 to 14 months to build.

The wind farm will provide 6 percent of the total energy consumed in Yucatan, said Gov. Mauricio Vila Dosal. It’s just the beginning.

“We have 23 permits registered for new generating parks, whether wind energy or solar energy. If these 23 projects are completed in the medium term, which is what we are all looking for, 3,400 megawatts would be generated and this would generate an investment of US$4 billion for the state,” said the governor.

That would being a grand total of 27 green-energy parks to Yucatan, including one already under way in Tizimín.

“We are proud to be the first renewable energy project in operation in the Yucatan Peninsula. Renewables together represent the largest investment in the history of the private sector in the state,” said Benigno Villarreal del Río, general director of the Vive Energía, which built the plant.

Vila Dosal referred to the state’s electricity deficit and its recent blackouts.

“Without a doubt, I think that in recent months we have heard a lot about the issue of electricity supply in Yucatan,” said the governor.

The farm includes 28 wind turbines, each 175 meters tall. The complex is built on a polygon of 1,346 hectares, but only four percent of the land surface is occupied.

During construction, more than 400 direct jobs were generated, and 50 employees work at the complex now that the farm is complete.

Mayor Daniel Armando Herrera Rivera also announced a new playground for the village, as well as a cultural center with music and computer classes.

The inaugural ceremony was attended by an official from Envision Energy International, Rafael Valdez Mingramm, and Sergio Ley López, Mexican diplomat and vice president of the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade.

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