Mexico. On March 22, Enel Green Power Mexico inaugurated the 754 MW Villanueva photovoltaic solar plant in Viesca, Coahuila, after the start of energy production of the 427 MW Villanueva 1 park, which together with the 327 MW Villanueva 3 park make up the photovoltaic installation in its entirety.
Once fully operational, Villanueva will be the largest operational PV facility in the Americas and Enel's largest solar project worldwide.
Leonardo Beltrán, Undersecretary of Planning and Energy Transition, and Antonio Cammisecra, head of Enel Green Power, and other personalities participated in the inauguration event.
"The inauguration of Villanueva is a milestone for Enel Green Power and for Mexico, as it is the first power plant to start operations after the country's Energy Reform. We are very proud to have taken this great step towards consolidating our leadership in Mexico's renewable energy market and to have once again demonstrated our reliability and ability to deliver on time the projects awarded in auctions," commented Antonio Cammisecra, Head of Enel Green Power.
The Enel Group is investing approximately 650 million dollars in the construction of Villanueva. The solar installation, comprising more than 2.3 million solar panels on 2,400 hectares in the semi-arid Mexican region, will be able to produce more than 1,700 GWh per year once it is fully operational in the second half of 2018.
The 754 MW total plant is 41% complete at the moment, which equates to around 310 MW in operation, with Villanueva producing power from a portion of more than 190 MW and Villanueva 1 producing power from a portion of more than 120 MW since December 2017.
The 754 MW Villanueva project is supported by a contract that allows the sale of specific volumes of energy for 15 years and Clean Energy Certificates for 20 years to the Federal Electricity Commission.
