Algeria's first wind farm completed

ALGERIA: Construction of Algeria's first pilot wind power project, a 10MW facility at Adrar in the southern desert, has been completed, with the installation of 12 Gamesa 850kW turbines.

15 November 2013

The project uses Gamesa's 850kW machine

Commissioning was slated for December but is likely to delayed for reasons "outside their control", the company said.

French electrical-engineering company Cegelec built the Adrar plant for state utility Sonelgaz. It was originally due to come online in 2012, but the political situation caused various delays.

Following an initial pilot phase, Algeria aims to generate 40% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2030, including 2GW of wind.

Adrar marks the installation of Gamesa's 10,000th best-selling 850kW turbine since the first one went up at La Plana in Spain in 2001.

The company says it has now supplied the turbine to 537 facilities in 20 countries for close to 120 customers, with a total capacity of 8.5GW.