The 115 MW El Arrayan Wind farm located 400 km north of Santiago on the coast of Chile has officially been commissioned. El Arrayan Wind connects to the Sistema Interconectado Central’s 220kVm transmission system and is located on approximately 15,320 acres of coastal land on a long-term lease with a single landowner. The President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, together with Jean-Paul Luksic, Chairman of Antofagasta Minerals SA (AMSA) and Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Energy Group Inc. officially opened operations in a ceremony.
The President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, said during the ceremony, “I’m very happy to be here today because this project is important for our present and future energy needs. El Arrayan is the biggest wind farm in Chile and we are pleased at what we can achieve when we use the natural resources the earth has to offer. This project is another step toward meeting our energy agenda objectives. We want to have 45% of our energy come from clean energy resources by 2025.”
According to the World Bank, The El Arrayan Wind facility, which completed construction in June, will generate clean, renewable power equal to the needs of approximately 200,000 Chilean homes each year. The facility is utilizing 50 Siemens 2.3 MW wind turbines, which Pattern Energy is also using at other wind projects in Canada and the United States.
“Through this partnership, we have combined our financial and management skills to be part of the solution to one of the major challenges facing our country and the mining industry, which is the generation of clean energy sources,” added Jean-Paul Luksic, Chairman of Antofagasta Minerals SA.
Pattern Energy operates and owns 70 percent of the El Arrayan Wind facility. AMSA owns the remaining 30 percent minority stake. The project sells approximately 70 percent of its output to Minera Los Pelambres through a long-term fixed-for-floating hedge. The facility sells its remaining output into the Chilean spot market at the prevailing market price at the time of sale. In addition to its minority interest in the facility, AMSA is the controlling party of Minera Los Pelambres.
Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Energy added, “We are honored to be joined at the project site by Madam President as we celebrate the opening of the country’s largest wind facility. Chile is a great market because of the President’s strong support for renewable energy policies, the country’s strong, stable economy and excellent natural wind resources, which can supply domestic energy to the country. We are also especially pleased to be here with our strong partner AMSA, which is demonstrating to the world that a global mining company can be a leader in clean, domestic energy.”