Ucuquer Wind Farm

Ucuquer Wind Farm is one of Chile’s pioneering renewable energy projects, essential to the efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
FACTS
Location

Matancilla, Litueche, Chile

Technology

Wind Farm

Attributes

Environmental/ Local impact

Producing electricity since

2012

Developer/owner

Energías Ucuquer S.A.

Estimated annual generation

50 GWh

Total capacity

16.2 MW

The Ucuquer Wind Farm is a project of Energías Ucuquer S.A. (Ucuquer Energy), a company constituted entirely by Chilean investment and committed to sustainability objectives in the execution of unconventional renewable energy projects in Chile. Since 2009 one of those projects has been the Ucuquer Wind Farm, located near the Rapel River and its hydroelectric plant.

The Ucuquer Wind Farm (Phases I and II) aims to contribute to growing energy demands and diminish fossil fuel emissions while generating employment for Chile’s VI Region. Located in a rural property called Fundo Ucuquer e Hijuela Mantancilla in Matancilla town in Litueche district, an area of 1,405 hectares, Ucuquer Wind Farm generators only utilize 4.3% of the site’s surface area, hence making most of the non-utilized area 100% compatible with other activities such as forestry, agriculture and animal husbandry – main economic activities in the region.

Ucuquer Wind Farm consists of nine wind generators with a capacity of 1.8 MW each and a total annual electrical energy generation of 50 GWh, which is fed into Chile’s main alternating current power grid, the Sistema Interconectado Central. The wind farm is intended to contribute to the development and diversification of Chile’s energy matrix.

Ucuquer Wind Farm is one of Chile’s pioneering nonconventional renewable energy projects and was commissioned and developed in record time, leveraging economies of scale and efficiencies in logistics. Its actions are deeply connected to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The project has expanded its lifespan from 20 to 30 years, maximizing the efficiency of the intervention.

Energías Ucuquer

The Ucuquer Wind Farm is a project of Energías Ucuquer S.A., a company committed to sustainability objectives in the execution of unconventional renewable energy projects in Chile.

As being a company constituted entirely by Chilean investment, Ucuquer Wind Farm is intended to contribute to the development and diversification of Chile’s energy matrix through the implementation of small-scale unconventional renewable energy projects. The project is aligned with the Chilean government’s national energy policy, which as of 2010 requires 5% of electrical energy produced by energy companies be obtained through renewable sources or unconventional renewable energy sources. In addition, the project is a Clean Development Mechanism project for credits and fulfills the categories of the Kyoto Protocol.

Phase I & Phase II

Ucuquer Wind Project was carried out in two phases.

Phase 1

Phase I of Ucuquer Wind Farm began construction on October 17, 2011 and initiated operations on October 4, 2012. This phase consisted of the installation of four 1.8 MW wind generators with a combined energy output of 22 GWh annually.

Ucuquer’s Phase I location was originally not regarded as having a high wind potential. Nonetheless, at present two or three developers are measuring winds in sites nearby, potentially bringing more investment into the region.

Phase 2

Phase II of Ucuquer Wind Farm began construction on January 1, 2015 and initiated operations on August 19, 2015. This phase consisted of the installation of five wind generators with capacities of more than 2 MW, and the construction of a substation and a power line of 110 kV connected to the substation of the Central Rapel Hydroelectric Plant.

Once the turbine generators were adjusted to their normal capacity, the phase II generators reported an average performance 4% higher than the technology installed in phase I.

Sustainability initiatives at the core of the project

Ucuquer Wind Farm is a unique renewable energy project that has transcended standard sustainability practices within its main objective of enlarging renewable energy production, fulfilling categories of the Kyoto Protocol. Ucuquer Wind Farm is a pioneering project in Chile’s VI Region. Being one of the first projects to implement sustainable measures, it stands as a foundation for nonconventional renewable energy projects and will have a positive impact on Chile’s expansion in this field. Ucuquer Wind Farm provides sustainable growth and development at a regional scale, representing an opportunity for energy growth.

During the construction and the operation phases, Ucuquer has implemented great environmental strategies, such as waste management, ecological restoration activities and other environmental programs, as shown below.

  • Waste management strategies during construction and operation phases
  • Reducing energy consumption inside the project – 0% consumption
  • Close monitoring and maintenance performed to reduce water and energy consumption
  • Not interfering nor modifying groundwater or surface water – not producing any water pollutants
  • No use of potable water in the wind farm
  • Direct contact with prime habitats is proportionally small – only 4,3% of the total site
  • Habitat restoration for degraded areas as long-term strategies
  • Restoring forest and enhancing agriculture on the rest of the project surface area – 95,7% of the total site
  • Wind turbine foundations designed according to earthquale-proof structural norms

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