Antofagasta Minerals inaugurates El Arrayán wind farm to supply Los Pelambres
With an installed capacity of 115 MW and a total of 50 wind turbines, the park will provide 70% of its energy to mining.
Antofagasta Minerals and Pattern Energy officially opened The Wind Farm El Arrayán, the largest project of its kind built in Chile, which will supply power to Minera Los Pelambres for the next 20 years.
The event was attended by President of the Republic, Michelle Bachelet and President of the Board of Antofagasta Minerals, Jean-Paul Luksic; who along with the Minister of Energy, Maximo Pacheco, and the CEO of Pattern Energy, Michael Garland, performed the ribbon cutting and visited part of the park facilities.
With an installed capacity of 115 MW and a total of 50 wind turbines, the wind farm El Arrayán will supply 70% of its energy to Minera Los Pelambres, while the remaining 30% will be sold in the Central Interconnected System (SIC). Thus, Los Pelambres will become one of the largest mining companies with NCRE consumption in Chile.-
The project, located on the coast of the IV Region, town of Ovalle, representing an investment of $ 300 million. 70% of the project is controlled by Pattern Energy, while the remaining 30% is owned by Antofagasta Minerals.
Providing El Arrayán to Minera Los Pelambres reflects the interest of the Mining Group to increase sustainability in mining production processes. Jean-Paul Luksic said “we are very proud of the realization of this project that started a couple of years ago and now makes tangible our interest, so much to do mining in a sustainable way, as have alternative solutions to the strong growth experienced by the cost of energy”.
The Minera Los Pelambres’s Investment in the efficient and sustainable use of energy, is added to one that began since it began operations, through the use of the conveyor system for the self-generation of electricity (equivalent to 10% of energy demand).
The wind farm El Arrayán adds to other initiatives undertaken by the mining group promoting NCRE. Thus at the end of 2012 the solar power plant for Minera Centinela project takes advantage of the high potential of solar radiation that exists in northern Chile was inaugurated.
Source: Diario Financiero
