Nordex wins large onshore wind turbine deal in Colombia

German turbine manufacturer Nordex has secured orders totalling 369MW from Colombian electricity utility Celsia. 

The order is for 63 of its N155 turbines, which will be used across three wind farms in northern Colombia, plus an extendable five-year service contract.

The largest of the three is the 265MW Camelias Camelias (265MW) OnshoreUribia, La Guajira, Colombia, Central & South America Click to see full details wind farm in the Guajira region, which will use 45 of the N155/5.X turbine model. 

The 94MW Acacia II Acacia II (94MW) OnshoreMaicao, La Guajira, Colombia, Central & South America Click to see full details wind farm, also in Guajira, will use 16 of the N155/5.X model, while the 9.6MW Carreto Carreto (9.6MW) OnshoreAtlántico, Colombia, Central & South America Click to see full details wind farm in Atlantico will use two N155/4.8 turbines.

Installation will start in spring 2023 and the three wind farms will be treated as one single large project, a Nordex spokesman said. Commercial operations are set to start from June 2023. 

Nordex will produce the 120-metre concrete towers for the turbines locally, but it is currently unclear where the other components will be manufactured.

When complete, the three wind farms will bring Nordex’s installed capacity in Colombia to 594MW. The firm also won an order in 2020 for 41 of its N149/4.X turbines on tubular steel towers totalling 205MW for an undisclosed buyer on La Guajira peninsula together with a service agreement.

Nordex’s chief sales officer Patxi Landa said: “Colombia has been developing into a new key country in Latin America for the Nordex Group.”

Nordex stated that “the trend towards renewable energies in Colombia is unequivocal”. It added that it sees considerable potential for wind power generation, particularly on La Guajira peninsula off the Caribbean coast where there are stable wind speeds of 9m/s.

Around 70% of Colombia’s power generation currently comes from hydro-electric power, with just under 30% from fossil-fuelled power plants, leaving the country vulnerable to prolonged droughts. Wind power is seen as a way to diversify power sources.