Enel dominates Peru renewables tender

PERU: Italian developer Enel Green Power (EGP) is set to become the leading player in Peru's nascent renewable sector after dominating the recent tender.

by Tom Azzopardi 19 February 2016

Enel has a strong wind presence in Latin America, including the Talinay project in Chile

EGP won three quarters of the capacity on offer in the country's fourth tender to source renewable electricity from 2018.

The Italy-based firm was awarded power contracts for 126MW of wind power, 180MW of photovoltaic solar power and 20MW of hydroelectric capacity.

In total, energy and mining regulator Osinergmin awarded 20-year contracts to 13 renewables projects totalling 430MW, covering almost 100% of the electricity on offer.

These included three wind farms with capacity totalling 162MW, which were awarded contracts with an average price of $37.79/MWh — "the lowest price awarded to wind projects in Latin America in recent years", the government agency highlighted.

"With 326MW awarded in the tender, EGP will become by 2018 the main renewable player in Peru and the only company operating plants of three different renewable technologies in the country," said Enel, adding that it plans to invest around $400 million in the projects.

These include the 126MW Nazca wind farm in Marcona, on Peru's southern coast, which is expected to generate about 600GWh annually.