Zubiaur has declared in the presence of the Ecuadorian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, His Excellency Mr. Esteban Albornoz, during the presentation of the results of the project for the wind measurement in Imbabura and Loja.
Also present in the event were the heads of different departments of the Ministry, as well as the Manager of Barlovento in Latin America, Mr. David Fernández.
The project is included in PAES (Sustainable Energy Action Plan in Ecuador), financed within an agreement between the Inter American Bank for Development and the Republic of Ecuador. The measurements have been carried out during 15 months in several sites considered interesting for the development of wind farms.
Wind characteristics in Ecuador are odd, the sites with the highest wind potential are located at a high altitude and so, the air density is up to 30% lower than that at sea level. Despite the altitude, their low latitude prevents extremely low temperatures. In spite of the low density, the high average wind speeds make the wind potential still high, enough for the development of wind farms, with plant factors over 40%.
The General Manager of Barlovento has emphasized the high availability obtained in the measurement campaign, nearly 100%. He has also stressed that the measurement were performed following the quality standards of the wind industry, such as IEC standards, Measnet procedures and recommendations from AIE.
In parallel with the measurements, the technical staff of the Ministry has been trained on wind potential measurements, wind farm design and power assessment of the projects.
The General Manager has accentuated the importance of these actions and others which are currently taken place in Ecuador, facing the implementation of the wind energy in the country, in a sustainable way, in the following years.
At the moment, Ecuador has a 16.5 MW wind farm in the continent (Villonaco WF) and several wind turbines in Santa Cruz Island (Galápagos).
