Spain's Gamesa Signs 10-Year Supply Agreement for Mexican Wind Project

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Renewable energy company Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica SA (MCE:GAM) (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain) has signed an exclusive 10-year supply agreement with wind and solar power developer the Cannon Power Group (San Diego, California). Gamesa will supply Cannon Power with wind turbines for a series of windfarms in Mexico's Baja California region as part of the Aubanel Wind Project. The agreement includes the provision of additional support, maintenance and limited development services at the project sites.

The Aubanel Wind Project is expected to have the potential to generate 1,000 megawatts (MW) of wind power, and Cannon Power will be the lead developer of the project. The first phase of the project will have an installed capacity of between 70 MW and 100 MW, and the project is expected to reach full capacity in three to four years. Work on the project is scheduled to begin within a year.

At more than 140 square miles, the Aubanel Wind Project, near the town of La Rumorosa, will be one of the largest wind power sites in North America. The site is about 60 miles east of San Diego and 15 miles south of the Mexico-U.S. border. The land has been leased from Ejido Aubanet Vallejo by Rumorosa Wind Developers (La Rumorosa), a wholly owned subsidiary of Cannon Power. Rumorosa will operate the project. Mexican law firm Foglio & Associates and Cannon Power's Mexican partners Monarch Management Services will work with Cannon Power during the development of the project.

The president of Cannon Power, Gary Hardke, said that the project promises to be a major cross-border initiative that will stimulate the economy of the region and generate enough clean energy to power 250,000 households. The power generated from the first phase of the project will be purchased by Mexican customers, while subsequent phases will see the sale of power to customers in both Mexico and the U.S.

The Aubanel Wind project is expected to create substantial development and employment opportunities in the state, although capital equipment such as transformers, towers, nacelles and blades will be sourced from Gamesa's manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania.

Among Cannon Power's other projects, the 500-MW Windy Point/Windy Flats wind power project being developed along the Columbia River in Klickitat County in Washington is one of the nation's largest wind power projects. The project, when completed, is expected to provide enough clean energy to power 250,000 households per year and displace 800 tons per year of carbon-dioxide emissions. Work on the project began in September 2008, and the first 137 MW was installed in May 2009. The first phase was sold in July 2009 to the Tuolumne Wind Project Authority, a California agency formed by the Walnut Energy Center Authority and the Turlock Irrigation District. The 202-MW second phase was completed late last year, while this year will see the addition of another 60 MW.

The remaining 100 MW is expected to be completed soon. More than 50% of the wind power generated by the facility will ultimately be sold to the Southern California Public Power Authority (Pasadena, California), a joint powers agency comprising the municipal utilities of the cities of Anaheim, Banning, Azusa, Cerritos, Burbank, Colton, Los Angeles, Glendale, Pasadena, Vernon, Riverside and the Imperial Irrigation District.

Cannon Power has been operating in the renewable energy sector for more than 30 years and has more than 30 utility-scale wind power projects in Croatia, Greece, India, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the U.S. The company has more than 3,000 MW of wind power projects and 1,500 MW of solar power projects in various stages of development across Europe and western North America.

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