La Castellana

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La Castellana wind power project (the “Project”) includes the construction and operation of a 100.8MW wind power plant, a transformation substation and a 37 kilometer transmission line connecting the plant and substation to the national Argentine grid. The Project is located in the department of Villarino, near the city Bahia Blanca, within the Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The Project will use 32 Acciona Windpower AW125/3.15MW wind turbine generators (WTGs),   each one linked to the on-site 33kV collector switchgear. The voltage will then be stepped up to a transmission voltage of 132kV at the on-site Project substation and will be evacuated through the Project transmission line which will finally connect to the Chañares substation.This is one of the first projects awarded under Renovar, the renewable energy program of the Republic of Argentina, which aims to increase the participation of renewable energy in the country’s energy matrix to 8% by the end of 2017, and progressively up to 20% by the end of 2025. Electricity generated by the project will be sold under a single 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between the company and the buyer, Compania Administradora del Mercado Mayorista Electrico Sociedad Anonima (CAMMESA). Construction is expected to begin in April 2017. Key contractors include Constructora Sudamericana for civil engineering works, Distrocuyo for electrical engineering works and Nordex-Acciona as the operations and maintenance (O&M) contractor. The project is awaiting the last permits to be able to commence construction.  The project area is approximately 1,500 ha in size and characterized by open grasslands with small shrub woodland. Lands are being leased for a period of 20 years. The total permanent footprint of the project will be 1 – 2% of the project area, including all ancillary facilities. The 32 WTG’s will have a height of 87.5 m and 125 m rotor diameter. The power generated by each WTG will be linked to an on-site 33 kV aerial collector switchgear. The voltage will be stepped up to the transmission voltage of 132 kV at the substation to be built on site and will be evacuated through a 37 km high-voltage transmission line that will connect to the existing Chañares substation. Eight of the 32 turbines are located within the outer limits of a key biodiversity area for an important bird area (IBA). The total project footprint within the IBA represents approximately 0.1% of the total IBA area. There are no human settlements in the vicinity of the project, though lease agreements will be needed with 20 landowners of the easement for the transmission line right of way (RoW). The project has good connectivity by road from the port of Bahia Blanca on national routes 35 and 33, leading into the project site on 14 km’s of tertiary road through agricultural lands. The small road will require improvements to enable the ingress and egress of equipment, materials, machinery and workers. The project will not have work camps during the construction phase. A local hiring policy will give preference to the local workforce, benefitting the local economy