New Wind Energy Project For Costa Rica

In August juwi wrapped up a deal to supply more than 50 megawatts of wind power capacity for a project in Costa Rica.

The wind farm is due to start production in 2009. Aurich-based Enercon will supply the turbines 55 E-44 models of 900 kW each. The Proyecto Eólico Guanacaste wind park’s annual yield is a veritable sensation.

Although their steel tubular towers measure only 45 meters, the turbines will collectively produce some 240 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually. “That’s a utilization factor of about 55%,” says project manager Alejandro Lobo Guerrero. The consortium comprises the juwi group, U.S. independent power producer Econergy and a local construction company, Saret de Costa Rica, S.A..

In 2006 the three companies submitted a bid to the tendering round issued by national energy supplier Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), and they were awarded the contract to build and operate the wind farm. As project developer juwi is first and foremost in charge of the project management, Enercon will supply the turbines and continue to be involved during operation within the framework of its Enercon Partner Concept (EPC). September.

Wind energy around the world

“These projects demonstrate the increasingly strong demand for wind energy around the world,” says juwi group‘s co-CEO’s Fred Jung and Matthias Willenbacher.

Wind is one of the most economic ways of producing electricity and there is still great potential to increase wind power production to combat climate change and reduce dependency on expensive energy and raw material imports, thus enhancing security of supply and price stability.

So far the juwi group has implemented more than 250 wind turbines representing production output of some 350 MW at approximately 50 sites in Germany and France. Juwi is in the process of developing more wind farms in the Czech Republic, the U.S., Costa Rica and Argentina. In pursuit of a sustainable global energy supply, juwi is routinely looking for additional employees.

The renewable energies market

Over the past several years the proportion of renewably sourced electricity production has steadily increased. Today wind power, hydropower, solar power and bioenergy already meet some 12% of the electricity demand in Germany. The German government’s sustainability strategy includes a 50% target for renewables in the power supply by mid-century.

An interim target — also a part of the coalition agreement between Germany’s ruling political parties SPD, CDU and CSU — has been set at a 20% share of renewables by 2020. The Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) is a central instrument to implementing this strategy. It has become an elementary building block toward job creation and stability. Right now there are around 215,000 jobs in the renewable energies sector.

Wind energy

Germany continues to play a cutting-edge role in wind energy usage. At the end of 2006 some 75,000 MW of wind power capacity was installed worldwide, approximately 50,000 MW of that in Europe alone. Among the world leaders are Germany (20,600 MW installed at the end of 2006), Spain (11,615 MW), the U.S. (11,603 MW), India (6,270 MW) and Denmark (3,136 MW).

Various studies predict around 270,000 MW installed globally by the end of 2015. At the end of 2006 a bit more than 500 MW of wind power capacity was installed in Latin America, most of it in Brazil (237 MW), Mexico (88 MW) and Costa Rica (74 MW).

The juwi group

The juwi group is one of the leading renewable energy companies in Germany. Besides photovoltaics and biomass technology, wind energy is the company’s main business. With our staff of 200, the juwi group provides services across the entire value chain.

Founded in 1996, the company’s roots are in Rhineland-Palatinate, southwestern Germany, but its vision of a sustainable energy supply takes the company around the world. In France juwi énergie éolienne s.a.r.l. employees around 15 people at two branches, one located in Landunvez, Brittany and the other in Honfleur, Normandy. More wind power projects are under development in the United States, Central and South America and the Czech Republic.

In the wind business the company has implemented more than 220 turbines totaling some 330 MW of capacity just in its home state, Rhineland-Palatinate. Among juwi GmbH’s most outstanding projects are the 14 2-MW turbines in the Morbach Energy Landscape in the Hünsrück mountains and the Rhinehessen (region of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany)- Palatinate wind field — with upwards of 30 MW the biggest wind farm in south Germany.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.