The Spanish infrastructure, energy and telecommunications group Elecnor has been awarded a contract to build a wind farm in the Mexican state of Baja California for USD 17.8 million.
The San Matías Wind Farm Project includes the installation of eight 3.8-megawatt (MW) wind turbines, which will total 30 MW of installed power in an area of approximately 250 hectares.
The project will take place within the San Matías community, which borders Mexicali, the capital of Baja California del Norte, and the municipalities of Tecate and Ensenada.
The project includes the engineering and construction of civil works such as roads, as well as wind turbine platforms and foundations, an underground medium-voltage grid, the electromechanical assembly and termination of the wind turbines, a booster substation, a connector substation, a junction with the existing transmission line and a communications line.
The output from the wind farm will be monitored and managed from a control centre located within the farm's electrical substation. Each wind turbine will have an individual monitoring and surveillance system to ensure both local and remote control. The project has been led by the Fuerza Eólica de San Matías company, currently owned by Sinia Renovables, a Banco Sabadell subsidiary that specialises in energy projects.
Elecnor in Mexico
Elecnor's 25-year presence in Mexico has seen it build more than 70 electrical substations with a total installed power of 7,000 MVAr, plus 1,500 km of transmission lines, 255 km of optical fibre, as well as the construction of two combined cycle power plants, a hydroelectric power plant, a 170-km gas pipeline and three wind farms, and the construction or renovation of six hospitals. Most significant recent projects:
- Extension of six 115-kV and 161-kV power capacity substations.
- Empalme II Combined Cycle Power Plant, with a power capacity of 791 MW.
- 170-km Morelos gas pipeline.
- Red Occidental power transmission, four transmission lines and three 400-kV and 115-kV substations. - Agua Prieta II Combined Cycle Power Plant, with a power capacity of 394 MW.
- Tizimín wind farm with a power capacity of 75 MW.
- Fenicias wind farm with a power capacity of 168 MW.
- San Matías wind farm with a power capacity of 30 MW.
The Spanish infrastructure, energy and telecommunications Elecnor group and the Dutch group APG, manager of the second largest pension fund in the world, have signed a strategic alliance, which extends the one already subscribed in Celeo Redes, S.L., for the development and joint investment in power transmission and renewable energy projects, except wind power projects.
As part of this agreement, Elecnor and APG expect to receive joint investments of EUR 400 million from shareholders, to be disbursed over the next five years. Through this agreement, APG is to join Celeo Concesiones e Inversiones, S.L., a company currently fully owned by the Elecnor Group, with 49% of the shareholding. This involves the contribution of APG's shares in Celeo Redes and a payment of EUR 43 million. As such, Celeo will be jointly managed by Elecnor and APG. As part of this agreement, Elecnor and APG expect to receive joint investments of EUR 400 million from shareholders, to be disbursed over the next five years.
The fair value of the shared assets is also expected to have a significant positive impact on the consolidated income of the Elecnor Group for the current financial year. This positive accounting impact will be determined on the date the deal is closed.
In addition, this deal will have a significant impact on the consolidated balance sheet dated 30 June 2019, mainly by reducing the financial debt and non-current assets.
The agreement must be approved by the financial institutions and the relevant competent authorities before coming into effect. The deal is expected to be closed in the coming weeks.
Elecnor has received legal advice from Cuatrecasas and APG has received financial advice from Banco Santander and legal advice from Uria Menéndez.
Elecnor is one of the leading corporations in project development, construction and operation through two major mutually-enriching business areas: Infrastructure and Concessions.
Infrastructure, renewable energy and new technologies are the main areas of activity in which the Infrastructure and Concessions businesses are involved.
Thanks to the commitment, effort and innovation of its more than 13,000 employees, Elecnor has become an industry benchmark.