RENEWABLE POWER IN THE US, CANADA Energy re AND BEYOND Seamless rolled ring supplier for is here the wind industry www.frisa.com www.juwi.com RENEWABLE ENERGY NEWS • LATIN AMERICA FOCUS 2012 Price of success rises in Brazil Chinese connection: the first Record 2012 tally still well behind target and Goldwind turbines in South industry must overcome expanding list of hurdles. America are going up at • Coming Brazilian wind pipeline Enersur’s 16.5MW Villonaco • Local conent help on offer wind farm in Ecuador • Transmission snafu strands 620MW Photo courtesy of Facebook: 3 FotoStock Loja Argentina finance tough sell State-dominated power sector makes wind a risky proposition, slowing 754MW of Genren portfolio. • Credit turbulence knocks Genren 2 auction off stride • Argentina wind project upside 8 Panama backing local hero Auction winner UEP brings leap in scale to Central American wind development. • Central America project surge • Capacity jump on cards for 2013 10 Mexico search for easier life Rowdy neighbors in Tehuantepec persuade wind developers to look further afield for new sites. • 5GW bid rush in second open season • Mexico on the move — projects rundown Mist • Developer leads pack of municipalities to the power deal table • Caribbean takes step up in class 11 Muddy permit waters in Peru descends Contrasting fortunes for developers looking Latin American wind farm construction set to scale heights in northeastern Andes region. new records this year and total capacity could • Andes growth struggle • Mystery gremlins at PDVSA project be within touching distance of 5GW inside • High ridges beckon in Ecuador the next five months, writes Sebastian • Chile decks stacked against green power 14 Kennedy. The pace of progress is under threat, however, as delays mount at Brazil’s auction projects Uruguay stuck on blocks while the familiar pressures of securing power deals • Steep wind farm learning curve • Turbine stitch in time... and project finance open a window of opportunity for 17 the Chinese elsewhere in the region. See page 2 latin america 2 reNewsAmericas 9 August 2012 Predicted multi-gigawatt construction bonanza has failed to materialize as complications pile up in Brazil and struggle for long-term power deals and project finance hobbles rest of region Bumps ahead for wind juggernaut ind energy has continued its upward INSTALLED WIND RUNNING TALLY Wtrajectory in Latin Country/region America this year with the installation of 1800MW of new Capacity in MW End- 2010 2011 build End- 2011 2012 build End- 2012 2013 build End- 2013 2014 build End- 2014 2015 build End- 2015 capacity. Argentina 58 55 113 37 150 520 670 269 939 300 1239 Figures compiled exclusively Andes* 23 0 23 74 97 142 239 264 503 120 623 by reNews reveal the sector has maintained the construction Brazil 882 448 1330 902 2232 3285 5517 2411 7928 1377 9305 momentum achieved in 2011 to Caribbean 106 34 140 256 396 110 506 165 671 40 711 hit a new 12-month regional build Central America 186 115 301 40 341 172 513 220 733 116 849 record. Chile 171 30 201 90 291 246 537 463 1000 170 1170 Strong growth was registered in market leaders Brazil and Mexico, Mexico 519 459 978 399 1377 1030 2407 2671 5078 1538 6616 where a total of 1300MW is due Uruguay 43 10 53 2 55 394 449 618 1067 403 1470 for completion before the New TOTAL (MW) 1988 1151 3139 1800 4939 5899 10,838 7081 17,919 4064 21,983 Year. Construction also hit an all- time high in the Caribbean where * Andes = Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela 256MW is coming on-stream. The progress should push Latin Brazil’s eye-catching auction efforts to protect national industry renewable power. The number America to a cumulative installed framework set an unwelcome by excluding major turbine of unbuilt wind farms looking capacity total of almost 5GW tone ahead of plans for a major suppliers that have fallen foul of for power supply deals over the within the next five months. expansion of federally-contracted local content rules are only likely long term is growing across Chile, This year’s installation figures capacity. to add further complications to the Argentina, Mexico and elsewhere. fell well short of the multi- An unhappy mixture of next wave of auction wind farms These can prove elusive in gigawatt bonanza predicted by transmission, supply chain and due to break ground shortly. markets where utilities and large some developers and officials in planning constraints has seen Elsewhere in Latin America, the consumers can meet their needs 2011, however. developers request extensions perennial issues of access to long- buying low marginal cost base- Large swaths of capacity en masse for wind farms due to term power purchase agreements load power in the spot market. failed to materialize as predicted deliver power from July. and availability of project finance Similarly, wind developers note and project timeframes have The fact that each postponed remain the chief stumbling blocks. that low interest infrastructure slipped across Central and South project ran into its own unique Proponents argue significant loans amortized over 15 or 20 America. As a result the 2013 raft of setbacks suggests there may debt will only be channelled into years are not a speciality of Latin forecast appears hard to believe at be no quick solution to the evident the sector when unwavering state banks, which are more interested 5900MW. problems implementing wind in support is exhibited through the in generating quick returns on Widespread delays to the 1.8GW Brazil. provision of a stable regulatory relatively modest sums. of wind commercialized through The country’s understandable framework for the sale of This situation has created a window of opportunity for Chinese consortia offering turnkey Rivas flows: Blue Power & Energy’s financing and turbine solutions. 39.6MW La Fé – San Martin wind These structural issues will farm in southwest Nicaragua went continue to exert a downward live in June Photo: Blue Power & Energy force on wind energy expansion in Latin America but the region can still capitalize on macro-economic factors. Major suppliers are keen to nurture new markets to prop up their flagging order books in Europe, the US and parts of Asia. If supportive governments and investors hold their nerve, the desire for growth should soon reach critical mass and propel Latin America into the global wind limelight. www.reNewsAmericas.com • www.reNews.biz latin america reNewsAmericas 9 August 2012 3 Up to the challenge: Impsa’s operational 100MW Ceará I wind cluster is being boosted by 211MW Photo: Impsa Price of success rises in Brazil razil has managed to crank outside Brazil’s federally regulated up its wind energy program Record 2012 installation tally still auction framework remains a Bbut blockages in the supply well behind target and industry must distant dream and the enduring chain, transmission and planning overcome expanding list of hurdles reliance on state tenders leaves the system are threatening to stall the sector subject to a large degree of sector. political risk. Figures compiled exclusively 1450MW majority of the 1.8GW Power watchdog Aneel shortened The repeat postponement of by reNews show the nation is contracted at the first 2009 federal the term of power purchase this year’s A-3 and A-5 auctions on course to connect as much as tender is severely delayed and will agreements to reflect the delays and the lack of readily-accessible 900MW of new wind to the grid miss the 1 July 2012 deadline by and claw back above-market rate private PPAs left several gigawatts in 2012, a significant increase on many months. payments promised under Proinfa. of wind stranded without a route previous years. Wind projects have been held Other Proinfa parks that have to market. Much of this is expected in the up by a variety of bottlenecks failed to deliver contracted The deferral until October will final quarter so a sizeable chunk including administrative quantities of power are being only intensify competition and may well fall into 2013, but either foot-dragging in processing punished by a downgrading drive down already-low auction way this year’s tally promises to environmental licenses, supply in their so-called ‘physical PPAs to even more challenging break records and push Brazil over chain under-capacity, financing guarantees’. rates, analysts warned. The the 2GW operational threshold. deficits and transmission delays. Industry proponents said this fantastically low prices, 2011 The first wave of wind Brazilian regulators have discrepancy must be addressed tenders dipped to R$98/MWh, farms from the government’s demonstrated they will not accept if wind is to participate fully place huge pressure on the contentious power auctions are project hold-ups. in Brazil’s unregulated power stretched Brazilian supply chain up and running, demonstrating Retroactive changes imposed market. The physical guarantee to meet demand while remaining that wind is viable, under certain on wind farms delivered years is said to be a crucial metric for competitive. conditions, at R$131 per MWh. after deadlines stipulated under demonstrating project viability This issue was brought to the Despite these achievements, the previous Proinfa framework to private off-takers more used to fore by development bank BNDES’ Brazilian wind is lagging well left some investors facing a buying base-load capacity. suspension of five major behind official forecasts. The shortfall on projected revenues. Mass commercialization of wind turbine suppliers, including