AIIB approves loan for 33.6-MW wind project in southern Argentina

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a USD-65-million (EUR 62m) loan for the construction of a wind farm and connection infrastructure in the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, the provincial government has announced.

The loan, the first financing granted to the AIIB member Argentina, will support a 33.6-MW wind farm project near the city of Rio Grande, construction of a 33-kV interconnection line and feasibility studies into other wind projects in the province, the Tierra del Fuego government said.

Argentina’s southernmost province has not a single wind farm despite the abundance of wind resource. Wind speeds there exceed 10 m/s for at least 5,000 hours a year, according to the government.

At present, the energy mix of Tierra del Fuego is based on 100% fossil fuels, powered by natural gas. Being isolated from Argentina’s national power grid, the province relies on a fragile network made up of city grids, AIIB said separately.

These conditions will require wind farms in the province to be built together with modernised and more flexible thermal power plants, so that both thermal and renewable generation can be duly integrated, the bank said.

For the Tierra del Fuego project, Latin American development bank CAF will support the modernisation of two thermal power plants, while AIIB will finance the wind project.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.954)

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