EcoJoule completes studies for pioneering 20 MW wind project in Peru

German company EcoJoule is this month set to complete 12 months of resource studies for a proposed 20 MW wind project at Paita in northwest Peru's Piura province. It expects to have feasibility studies completed by April, says EcoJoule owner-manager Alexander Jager-Bloh. The company is working closely with Paita municipal authorities and KLT-Consult engineers. The local fishing industry has a high demand for power and could buy some of the project's output directly. But financing remains the key issue of the feasibility studies and Jager-Bloh does not rule out bringing in additional partners. Once EcoJoule has an exact fix on the wind resource, it will step up talks with commercial banks, development banks and German export funds, he adds. In the meantime, financial hurdles look certain to be higher for EcoJoule's second Peru project, a 60 MW coastal development. As a pioneering project, Paita is likely to attract more support. EcoJoule will decide this month on whether to start wind resource studies for its second project.