Vestas has signed an order for a total capacity of 39.6 MW consisting of 22 units of the V100-1.8 MW turbine for the Alba Rivas wind power plant, which will be located in Hacienda La Fe, Rivas, Nicaragua.
The order has been placed by Alba de Nicaragua S.A. (Albanisa), a private company specialised in energy generation, security services, hotels, livestock breeding, transportation, loans, port cargo handling and gas distribution.
The contract comprises supply and commissioning of the turbines, a VestasOnline® Business SCADA system as well as a five-year service and maintenance AOM 4000 agreement. The AOM 4000 is a full scope service contract, consisting of scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and consumables, which offers solid risk management for customers who want an availability guarantee measured against an agreed threshold. This type of contract offers customers assured performance avoiding unforeseen operational costs of any kind.
Delivery of the first turbines is expected to start in Q4 2012 and the project is expected to be commercially operational during Q2 2013.
“We are pleased to have selected Vestas as supplier for our first wind farm in Nicaragua. We trust that Vestas will deliver the best solutions with high-quality service and professionalism,” says Francisco Lopez, CEO of Alba de Nicaragua S.A.
Marcelo Tokman Ramos, Vice President of Vestas South America (excl. Brazil), expresses: “We are very satisfied with this new order, which confirms the continuous positive trend of wind power development in Nicaragua. It is very important for us to have been selected as the technology supplier for Alba De Nicaragua S.A’s first wind project and also considering their future portfolio, we are looking very much forward to a long-lasting collaboration between the two companies.”
“Vestas is focused on developing new business opportunities in the Latin American markets and this project is a good example of this goal. Our commitment with the expansion of the wind energy industry will bring a clean, competitive and predictable energy source into the Nicaraguan energy mix while contributing to the development of local quality employment and competencies. We are pleased to have been chosen as Alba de Nicaragua´s partner,” concludes Juan Araluce, Chief Sales Officer of Vestas Wind Systems A/S and Acting President of Vestas Mediterranean.
The wind power plants of this order will produce approx. 180 GWh per year, which corresponds to an annual emission saving of approx. 36,400 tons of CO2 compared with average Nicaraguan electricity.
It is important to mention that in September 2011 Vestas received an order for a total of 39.6 MW for La Fé – San Martin Wind Farm also in Nicaragua, which is expected to be connected to the grid in June 2012.