Bolivia set to quadruple its energy production from wind power

7 August 2018

The Bolivian state-owned electricity company, Electricity National Company (ENDE) has awarded a contract to the Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas to deliver and commission 30 wind turbines, as well as supervise construction of the three wind farms.

Known as San Julián, Warnes og El Dorado, the three wind farms are located in the eastern province of Santa Cruz, which is Bolivia’s economic heart and will generate 40, 14 and 54 MW respectively. This amounts to a total of 108MW that will be added to Bolivia’s existing capacity and once completed, the three farms will be capable of supplying electricity to the entire country.

The three wind farms are financially supported by the Danish government's development cooperation facility, Danida, and Bolivia’s central bank.

Sustainable economic growth for all
The financial assistance Denmark is providing is based on the Danish government’s objective of helping secure sustainable economic growth for all. Contributions to sustainable economic growth are made in areas where Denmark possesses significant expertise, resources and interests, such as wind power in the Bolivian case. Danida Business Finance, which is administered by the Danish Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), assists with financing sustainable infrastructure projects in countries that have trouble with obtaining finance on market terms. In this specific project, Danida Business Finance will assist with loan financing and technical assistance.

The Danish Minister for Development Cooperation, Ulla Tørnæs says: ”The wind farms will be ready by 2020 and will deliver green energy to approximately 1 million people. Denmark is making an important contribution to Bolivia’s goal of transitioning to a low-carbon economy and increased access to a stable power supply for 95 percent of the population by 2020. The project is yet another important step on the path to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030”.

– Our role is to support projects within areas such as renewable energy in developing countries, that cannot be executed based on normal business terms. Thus we play a key role in Bolivia being able to expand the production of renewable energy, which has considerable ramifications for the climate and development in Bolivia, says Lene Mollerup, Investement Director in IFU.

Commenting on the project, which is Vestas’ first order in Bolivia, Enric Català, Senior Director Sales LATAM, Vestas said: ”Vestas has installed wind turbines in approximately 80 countries. We are cooperating once again with IFU on our first project in Bolivia, which deliver affordable, green energy via our market leading wind energy solutions to yet another country. Vestas has installed more than 4 GW of wind turbines in Latin America and thus has already contributed substantially to the continents green transition, which we will continue to support in the future, together with our customers and partners.

Securing stable and environmentally-friendly electricity
Bolivia has a population of approximately 11 million and is working towards transitioning its energy system to one powered primarily by renewables. The country has set a target of meeting 74 percent of the country’s electricity consumption with renewable energy by 2025 and is exploring options to export energy to neighbouring countries. The wind farms can help achieve this goal, as well as provide a more stable electricity supply and reduce Bolivia’s CO2 emissions by 142,500 tonnes annually.

-Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Denmark, The Danish Investment Fund for Developing Countries