- Ampliación Los Llanos is foreseen to enter into operation at the end of 2019 and could generate 78 GWh a year.
- Investment in building the wind part stands at 23 million euros.
- For the first time in Spain, a premanufactured cement is used, which reduces the environmental impact of the work and saves time.
Endesa, through its renewable energy subsidiary Enel Green Power España (EGPE), has begun construction of the wind park Ampliación Los Llanos, with a capacity of 20 megawatts (MW), which is carried out in the municipal districts of Cogollos and Hontoria de la Cantera, in the province of Burgos. Investment will stand at approximately 23 million euros.
"This new wind park is the latest milestone in the expansion of our renewable footprint that will help to further diversify the generation mix in Spain and attain the country’s green energy objectives", said José Bogas, CEO of Endesa. “We continue to be committed to actively promoting the highest level of innovation and sustainability in the project’s construction and operation, at the same time as taking advantage of the wealth of Spain’s renewable resources to produce clean energy".
Ampliación Los Llanos will enter into operation at the end of 2019. When it is up and running, it will have the capacity of generating approximately 78 GWh a year, which will avoid annual emissions of around 54,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. The park, which will be connected by the existing EGPE substation in Cogollos, will be equipped with ten turbines of two megawatts unitary power.
To build this park, EGPE will use various innovative tools and techniques: the company will test, for the first time in Spain, the use of premanufactured cement for one of the ten wind towers, thereby saving construction time and reducing the environmental impact of its construction on site. Moreover, EGPE will use drones for topographic survey, intelligent tracking of turbine components, advanced digital platforms and software solutions to remotely monitor and support activities and implementation of the plant. These tools and solutions will enable faster, more accurate and reliable compilation of data during site activities, which enhances the overall quality of construction and facilitates communication between teams inside and outside the construction vicinity.
Construction will be based on Enel Green Power’s "Sustainable Construction Site" model, including installation of photovoltaic solar panels to cover part of the site’s energy needs. Furthermore, water saving measures will be implemented by means of installing water deposits and rain water collection systems; once construction work has completed, both photovoltaic panels and water saving equipment will be donated to municipalities where projects are located for their public use. A loading point will be installed for electric vehicles on the project’s construction site for workers to use. Furthermore, in line with Enel Group’s model Creating Shared Value that aims to combine business development with the local community’s needs, EGPE will implement social initiatives for the benefit of surrounding communities, including aero generator operation training courses.
Ampliación Los Llanos forms part of the 540 MW that EGPE earmarked during renewable energy auctions organised by the Government in May 2017. When they enter into operation, the new facilities will generate in total approximately 1750 GWh a year. In addition to this plant in Burgos, wind parks will be located in Aragón, Andalucía, Galicia and Castilla La Mancha. Of the 540 MW earmarked, to date the company has begun work in 14 plants (including this one), that total power of 410 MW and generation capacity when up and running, of more than 1300 GWh a year, which will avoid annual emission of approximately 900,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. EGPE also earmarked 339 MW of solar origin production capacity in the Government’s third auction held in July 2017, in Extremadura and Murcia.
The construction of wind (540 MW) and solar (339 MW) power installations, assigned in the last two auctions, will entail investment of more than 800 million euros up to 2020. This additional capacity of 879 MW entails a 52.4% increase in EGPE’s current renewable energies park.
Endesa currently manages more than 6553 MW of renewable capacity in Spain. Of this figure, 4710 MW corresponds to traditional hydraulic generation. The remainder, approximately 1843 MW, are managed by means of EGPE, and come from wind energy (1750 MW), mini hydraulic energy (79 MW) and other sources of renewable energy (14 MW).
Enel Green Power is the global business line of the Enel Group, to which Endesa belongs; it develops and operates renewables all over the world and is present in Europe, America, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Enel Green Power is a global leader in the green energy sector with a managed capacity of more than 43 GW as a combination of generation, which includes wind, solar, geothermal and hydroelectric energy. It is at the avant-garde of integration of innovative technologies in renewable energy plants.