Italian multinational renewable energy corporation Enel Green Power (EGP) has begun construction of the Palo Alto wind farm in Ojuelos, in the northeastern Los Altos region of Jalisco.
The wind farm is expected to be completed and enter into service in the second half of 2016. EGP says it will invest approximately $US250 million in the project.
The facility will comprise 43 wind turbines of 3 MW (megawatts) each for a total installed capacity of 129 MW. According to a company press release, once fully operational Palo Alto will be able to generate more than 350 GWh (gigawatt hours) per year, equivalent to the annual energy consumption needs of about 200,000 Mexican households, while avoiding the annual emission of around 200,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Enel Green Power has 740 plants operating in 17 countries with installed capacity of more than 10,000 MW from a mix of sources, including wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal and biomass. In Mexico, EGP currently has a total installed capacity of around 500 MW, comprising 446 MW from wind and 53 MW from hydro.
Enel Green Power’s experience with wind power dates back to 1984, when the firm built the first Italian wind farm in Sardinia. In the United States EGP owns more than 60 hydroelectric plants, 21 wind farms and two geothermal plants.
Harnessing power from the wind is considered one of the cleanest and most sustainable ways to generate electricity as it produces no toxic pollution or global warming emissions. Opinions vary, however, on the benefits and efficiency of wind farms, as well as their potential health dangers.
Studies showing the impact caused by low-frequency noise from wind turbines have been known to U.S. researchers and the renewable energy industry for more than 25 years. Approximately 40,000 birds die each year by flying into onshore wind turbines in the United States and many bat colonies have been decimated. Farmers complain that the whirring noise of turbines scares their livestock, while others simply do not like the sight of the turbines.
Many countries have come to the conclusion that offshore wind farms – although more expensive to construct – are more environmentally friendly and efficient than onshore ones.
In 2012, the United Kingdom government placed a moratorium on building new onshore turbines, following similar decisions taken in Denmark and the North Holland province of the Netherlands.