El parque Eurus, ubicado en el estado de Oaxaca, es desarrollado en asociación con la española Acciona y tendrá una capacidad de generación electricidad de 250 megavatios, consumida principalmente por Cemex.
El parque Eurus arrancó con la operación de 25 aerogeneradores de un total de 167 y abastecerá el 25% de las necesidades de energía de Cemex en México. Se espera que alcance su capacidad total a finales del 2009.
La inversión de Acciona asciende a 550 millones de dólares en el parque, mientras que Cemex aporta unos 42 millones de dólares para la construcción de la infraestructura de transmisión.
El parque fue inaugurado por el presidente de la República mexicana, Felipe Calderón. Se han instalado ya 37 MW del parque y el conjunto de la instalación estará operativa en el cuarto trimestre de 2009.
El parque, denominado Eurus, supone una inversión de 550 millones de dólares (427 millones de euros) y será el mayor de América Latina por potencia instalada.
Eurus es un proyecto de autoabastecimiento desarrollado por ACCIONA Energía y Cemex y constará de 167 aerogeneradores de 1,5 MW cada uno, de tecnología Acciona Windpower. Está ubicado en Juchitán, Oaxaca, al sur de México y se construye en un terreno de 2.500 hectáreas, arrendadas en el Ejido La Venta, en el Istmo de Tehuantepec.
La energía que generará el parque Eurus sería suficiente para cubrir el consumo de una población de 500.000 habitantes y permitirá evitar el equivalente a 600.000 toneladas de CO2 por año, es decir, aproximadamente el 25% de las emisiones totales generadas por una población como la citada. Cubrirá un 25% de las necesidades de energía de Cemex en México.
Eurus será uno de los mayores parques eólicos del mundo y el segundo en reducción de emisiones registrado ante las Naciones Unidas al amparo del Protocolo de Kioto. Tendrá asimismo uno de los mayores índices de reducción de emisión por capacidad instalada en el mundo, debido a su alto potencial eólico.
Durante la etapa de construcción, el proyecto ha generado más de 850 empleos directos en la zona. Hasta el momento se han instalado 37,5 MW del parque, y la entrada en operación del conjunto de la instalación se llevará a cabo en el cuarto trimestre de 2009.
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Mexican President inaugurates first phase of EURUS wind farm
* Starts the largest wind power generation project in Latin America
* Wind farm built by ACCIONA will supply 25% of CEMEX’s energy needs in Mexico, a significant step in the Company becoming more sustainable
Mexican President Felipe Calderón celebrated the development of the EURUS wind farm project already underway, which will have 250 megawatts (MW) of power production capacity that will be consumed mainly by CEMEX. The wind farm represents an investment of US$550 million (approximately €427 million euros) by the Spanish company ACCIONA.
EURUS wind farm is a self-generation project to supply 25% of CEMEX Mexico’s needs. It has been developed jointly between CEMEX and ACCIONA Energia and will have 167 wind turbines with 1.5MW of capacity each, built by ACCIONA Windpower. It is located in Juchitan, in the Southern Mexican State of Oaxaca in a 2,500 hectare area in the Tehuantepec Isthmus, an area well-known for its wind resources.
The energy that will be produced by EURUS is estimated to be sufficient to power a Mexican city of half a million inhabitants, reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 600 thousand metric tons each year, which is approximately 25% of the total emissions generated by such a community.
EURUS will be one of the largest wind farms in the world and the second largest in terms of emissions reduction registered under the Clean Development Mechanism of the United Nations (Kyoto Protocol). It will also have one of the largest emission reduction indexes per installed capacity in the world.
The project has created more than 850 jobs in the region during the construction phase and will have a local economic impact equivalent to 20 million Mexican pesos per year.
The first phase will be operational in the first quarter of 2009 and the last phase will be operational in the last quarter of 2009. Currently 25 turbines are installed.
The wind farm represents a major contribution towards the global effort that CEMEX is making to reduce its impacts and to become more sustainable.
Lorenzo H. Zambrano, Chairman and CEO of CEMEX said, "At CEMEX we are committed to innovation and to becoming more sustainable by the use of alternative fuels, and the application of more efficient processes to save energy, to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and to contribute to a clean environment. We are determined to include renewable sources of electricity into our energy mix, and therefore today we feel very proud of our alliance with ACCIONA, so that the EURUS wind farm can begin to transform the power of the wind into electric power".
Esteban Morrás, board member of ACCIONA, said, "EURUS is the largest wind farm installed by our company in the world and represents a huge impulse to the development of wind power in Mexico. This country has great potential for wind development and should take advantage of this in the necessary transition toward a more sustainable energy model, creating with it wealth and employment in a sector of the future". He also expressed his satisfaction by the collaboration with CEMEX in this project. "CEMEX is a great company and we are delighted to work with it on this important initiative".
CEMEX is a growing global building materials company that provides high-quality products and reliable service to customers and communities in more than 50 countries throughout the world. CEMEX has a rich history of improving the well-being of those it serves through its efforts to pursue innovative industry solutions and efficiency advancements and to promote a sustainable future. For more information, visit www.cemex.com.
ACCIONA Energia is a world leader in renewable energy systems. It has installed 6,000 MW of power in 208 wind farms in 14 countries, and produces wind turbines using proprietary technology. It also has thermosolar, photovoltaic hydroelectric and biomass facilities and produces biodiesel and bioethanol. It´s a subsidiary of ACCIONA, a multinational conglomerate focused on sustainability, with a presence in the sectors of infrastructure, services and renewable energy.
www.acciona-energia.com/default.asp
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