Costa Rica: 50 MW awarded to Acciona

Acciona will design, construct and operate the Chiripa wind park following an investment of US$ 125 million. The wind park is planned for the municipality of Tilarán (Guanacaste province) in northwestern Costa Rica, and will consist of 33 wind turbines of 1.5 MW unitary capacity.

Acciona presented its bid together with the local company Grupo Ecoenergía, which holds a 35 % stake in the development company. The remaining 65 % are held by Acciona. The award involves the signature of a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement and the materialization of the wind farm through the BOT (build, operate and transfer) formula. Under the agreement, the developer will design, build and operate the wind park for the 20 years of its duration. Once this period is over, the ownership of the facility will be transferred to the ICE.

Acciona expects to start construction work at the end of 2012 and put it into service towards the end of 2013. Once grid connected, the Chiripa wind farm will produce over 200 GWh in an average year. The materialization of the Chiripa wind park will contribute to the government's strategic objective of reducing the country's carbon footprint. Costa Rica had 179 MW of installed wind power capacity at the end of 2010.