The US$600 million Parque Eolico Reynosa wind project in north-eastern Mexico has successfully achieved financial close. Mott MacDonald was lender’s independent engineer to Zuma Energia during the scheme’s financing stage and will now monitor construction and operations in an ongoing role.
Consisting of 123 wind turbine generators providing a total capacity of 424MW, the project is Mexico’s largest wind farm to date and one of the biggest in Latin America. It will provide clean, sustainable energy to approximately 900,000 people and avoid the emission of 739,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. Parque Eolico Reynosa will help Mexico reach its overall target of providing 50% of electricity from clean energy sources by 2050.
Mott MacDonald’s technical, environmental and social due diligence included reviewing a new wind turbine generator model without previous operational experience. The consultancy also assisted with the implementation of environmental and social management plans and advised on compliance with relevant standards and regulatory requirements.
Carlos Riano, Mott MacDonald’s project director, said: “This project is a great achievement for Mexico and will boost renewable energy investments in the country. Our assessments were based on our regional and international experience in similar assignments, including other wind projects in Mexico and Latin America and with our client Zuma Energia. We were able to highlight risks that could potentially affect the project’s progress and offered advice on methods for mitigating these.”
Adrian Katzew, chief executive officer of Zuma Energía, added: “We are very excited to be working with Mott MacDonald on this ambitious project. We are certain that our teams will work hard to reach our goal of beginning commercial operations by the start of 2019.”
Parque Eolico Reynosa is part of Mexico’s second long-term electric auction. Under its power purchase agreement, it will provide 1,613,416 clean energy certificates every year for 20 years. The wind farm is expected to enter operation at the beginning of 2019.