Horizonte Wind farm starts to produce energy

Following commissioning of the project in May 2024, over thirty wind turbines have been officially put into operation, boosting the production of energy from the location to enhance the proportion of renewable wind energy in the Chilean energy mix.  

This is primarily because more than 92 percent of the components could meanwhile be delivered to the construction site and are now in the final stage of installation. The ENERCON Team is passionate about solving challenges that come up on site. A good example of this is the APS system and wind-resistant electronic winches for installing blades in windy conditions. This has helped to improve installation plans and boost the completion of WEC installation by the end of the year. Over 100 WECs have been installed to date.

This is even more a convincing performance since official police escorts were not sufficiently available and reliable as we had required, the project was facing a major logistical challenge that would have resulted in significant delays in installation plans. In the interest of the project's success, ENERCON worked tirelessly on a solution and introduced private escorts at the end of 2023. Having been involved in the Horizonte WF since the early beginning, Kay Akanbi, ENERCON’s Project Director, is pleased to report that “Delivery on site (DOS) is expected to be completed about 5 weeks later than the original plan, which is a great achievement compared to the impending 12-month delay as a result of the missing police escorts this time last year.”

Because of its isolated location – two hours away from the closest city for medical assistance, the site has two ambulances and helicopter access available 24/7 in case of emergencies – all HSE topics have been a major focus for ENERCON and our customer Colbún, taking into account the natural surroundings of the location and the involvement of twenty-eight companies operating on site. A recent audit led by both teams showed great performance, reflecting the dedication and effort of ENERCON's HSE Team.

Teams are located throughout an 80 km desert area with daily access to more than 30 wind turbines for work, from installation to energization, thus, complete coordination and management of permits for work are continuously handled across this vast area. Hence, ENERCON and Colbún worked together extensively on all preparatory tasks and evaluations to guarantee a smooth and flawless connection.  

Victor Santiago, Colbun's Project Manager for the development and construction of the Horizonte WF, stated: "Colbún provided the knowledge of the Antofagasta region and Chile as a whole, while ENERCON is the product expert, manufacturing, transporting, installing and operating the WECs. This synergy of expertise was the key to the project's success.” Despite facing challenges, the entire Team remains extremely motivated to maintain the current strong momentum in order to successfully complete this impressive project for ENERCON and our customer Colbún by the end of the year.

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