2022 has started and ENGIE Energía Perú’s emblematic wind project, Punta Lomitas -located in Ocucaje-Ica-, continues its construction for the 50 wind turbines it will have, getting closer and closer to providing clean energy to Quellaveco, one of the most important mining projects of recent times.
Punta Lomitas became a reality on April 5, 2021, through an agreement between the global mining company, Anglo American, and ENGIE Energía Perú, to convert the total electricity supply (187 MW) of its Quellaveco project to 100% green energy.
“This was a milestone in the history of power plant development in Peru, as it was the first time that the construction of a power plant was the result of an agreement with a private company, and not a government auction”, says Daniel Cámac, Deputy Country Manager of ENGIE Energía Perú, highlighting the role of the private sector in the energy transition.
Construction began in September 2021 and, since then, significant progress has been made in the electrical and complementary civil works, such as the construction of the foundations for the wind turbines, the assembly of the towers of the 60-km transmission line and the start of the electromechanical assembly of the two electrical substations.
The wind turbines, which, once installed, will be 90 meters high and will have three blades of approximately 70 meters long, will begin to arrive in the second quarter of 2022. Additionally, energization of the substations and transmission line will begin in July.
“Everything is progressing according to plan at Punta Lomitas. We have had significant progress in construction and we are preparing for the arrival of the wind turbines. The goal is to have the plant ready and operating in the first half of 2023”, said César Cornejo, Vice President of Operations and Projects at ENGIE Energía Perú.
Punta Lomitas will have a capacity of 260 MW, which will make it the most important non-conventional renewable energy project for the National Interconnected Electrical System (SEIN). It will allow investing around USD300 million dollars, generate an average of 400 direct jobs (with a peak of 1,000 people) and avoid around 230,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year; becoming an example project of sustainable development for Peru.
