Plantas Eólicas, SRL

Plantas Eólicas, S.R.L., was, until recently, the largest wind plant in Costa Rica, with a 23 MW nominal installed capacity.  This facility is recognized worldwide as the first utility scale wind generation plant in Latin America.

PESRL has been operating for over 12 years at a plant capacity factor of no less that 40% of rated power, which is outstanding for a wind park.  The plant is located in Tilarán, Guanacaste province, west of lake Arenal. This area has high constant winds during most of the year, especially from December to July.

Since PESRL's construction, Costa Rica has seen continued wind investment, and now there are three additional wind parks in operation in the country (2 private and a state-owned one), and one in the final stages of construction.  Total installed wind capacity represents close to 4% of Costa Rica 's total capacity, and in 2004 contributed to approximately 3% of energy generation. The project currently sells 100% of its generation output under a long term Power Purchase Agreement with the state owned utility, Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE).

PESRL maintains excellent commercial relationships with the ICE, as well as the area's municipalities, regulatory bodies and government institutions, thanks to the company's use of best practices. Also contributing to PESRL's local acceptance are the positive impact on technology transfer, creation of sustainable jobs, generation of clean energy, and integration of the installed capacity with the national grid.

As a pioneer wind project in Costa Rica's hydro-dominated electric system, PESRL has demonstrated the importance of balancing renewable technologies to derive maximum efficiency from the country's natural resources. The windy and rainy seasons are counter-cyclical in Costa Rica , which means that wind generation and hydro generation can complement each other in the integrated management of the country's generation resources. When PESRL is generating, ICE is able to slow down or avoid the use of water in their hydrologic reservoirs, saving the water for peak generation needs.