According to an insider who did not want to be named, Venezuela is poised to build enough wind farms to produce about 1,600MW of renewable electricity by 2020. To kick start this process, there are at least three wind projects already in the works.

There have been reports that claim that Venezuela has the potential to generate about 20,000 MW in electricity, while others state 10,000 MW. The insider states that, “Those numbers are definitely too big.” going on to say “If you consider that 45,000 MW will be installed in the whole North Sea by 2050, how can nearly half of that be put to work in Venezuela?”

What the actual potential of the electricity generation from wind power in Venezuela is, is still in question. The facts that are known show that the 2,718km northern Venezuelan coastal strip has an 8.9 meter per second average wind all year round. This classifies it as class 6 of the Wind Power Class system, a chart used to determine whether wind power generation is feasible in a certain area. The class system consists of 7 classes, 1 being the lowest and 7 the highest. The Venezuelans are not letting this go unnoticed as there are three projects planned.

Although it can be agreed that the pace to wind power generation is a slow one, the future is quite hopeful. A 100-MW wind farm on the Paraguana peninsula is currently being developed and financed by PVDSA, a state-owned oil company. This facility is projected to be completed sometime at the end of 2011 or beginning of 2012. There are two other projects worth mentioning, although they are nothing but plans for now. There are plans to build a 75-MW facility on the Margarita Island and a 100-MW facility in the desert of La Guajira. Now this may seem like a very small amount. After all, 200 MW translates to power for about 63 homes, but this is for an entire year without reliance on any other power. The projects are slow to get off the ground because of all the bureaucracy involved, and the way the government is handling the situation.

The main driving force behind these kinds of ventures is typically foreign investors. Investors need to see that the area is profitable yet the Venezuelan government has failed to set up wind-power maps and sea-depth studies, all an essential part of wind power planning. “They say they have a wind map and exact [potential] numbers but every time we ask for them they don’t provide it,” said the source. As a result of this, foreign investors have shied away from any real investments in the country. Nevertheless, some projects do get off the ground and into development and many predict that the government will have no choice but to push forward.

Source: www.solar.coolerplanet.com

Portugal, which has no oil or coal, has in recent times pioneered developments in wind and solar power.

“This type of energy is the future,” Chavez said during a visit to a Portuguese factory making equipment for wind power generators.

“We have to start getting ready for the post-oil era,” he said in televised remarks during a daylong visit to northern Portugal.

Chavez said Venezuela aims to develop wind energy projects at four sites in the country. Details of the green energy agreement were not immediately available.

Chavez also said his government plans to increase oil sales to Portugal, though he did not say how much more crude would be shipped.

Source: www.forbes.com

“Tenemos la posibilidad de vender entre 750 MV y 1 000 MV (…) pero esto es una posibilidad”, dijo a Reuters el ministro de Electricidad y Energía Renovable, Miguel Calahorrano, quien aclaró que no se producido un pedido formal desde Venezuela.

Recientemente, el socio más pequeño de la OPEP dio por superada una de sus peores crisis energéticas, causada por una fuerte sequía, gracias a una normalización de los niveles hídricos y a la compra de nuevas plantas termoeléctricas.

“He conversado con el ministro de energía y Minas de Colombia (…). Me ha dicho si es que ustedes quieren venderle (electricidad) a Venezuela yo no tendré ningún problema en facilitar el tránsito”, mencionó Calahorrano.

Pese a las grandes diferencias, la crisis eléctrica llevó a Bogotá a ofrecer vender hasta 140 MV a su vecino de Gobierno.

La propuesta está bajo análisis en Caracas. Venezuela aplica desde enero un plan nacional de racionamiento de electricidad de hasta cuatro horas cada dos días que se extenderá hasta mayo para paliar la escasez de energía causada por una prolongada falta de lluvias y ausencia de inversiones en el sector.

Actualmente, el embalse Guri, principal fuente de energía del país sudamericano, está en 255 metros sobre el nivel mar, apenas 15 metros por encima de la cota crítica para la generación.

El miércoles la oferta energética de Ecuador fue de 51 201 MW/h de la cual un 54,8 por ciento fue producido en las plantas termoeléctricas, un 43 por ciento en hidroeléctricas y un 2.1 por ciento más que proviene de la interconexión con Colombia y Perú.

El presidente Rafael Correa impulsa un cambio en la matriz energética del país andino que pretende minimizar la utilización de combustibles fósiles y suplantarla por energías renovables.

Fuente: www.elcomercio.com