The consortium formed by the meteorological consulting firm Meteosim TrueWind –, based at the Barcelona Science Park, and Latin Bridge consultants has recently presented a wind atlas of Peru. The aim of the project, which was sponsored by the World Bank, was to survey the wind resources of Peru so that local authorities and technical teams would be able to draw on reliable information in harnessing local wind energy.

The atlas indicates that Peru has exploitable wind energy resources of 22,000 MW. Of the country’s 25 regions, the greatest potential was identified in Ica (9.14 GW), Piura (7.55 GW), Cajamarca (3.45GW), Arequipa (1.16 GW), Lambayeque (564 MW), La Libertad (282 MW), Lima (156 MW) and Ancash (138 MW). While Peru’s wind energy resources are theoretically as great as 77.4 GM, the figure for exploitable resources is lower because population centres, protected areas and overly mountainous regions had to be excluded

The wind atlas, which was presented to the Peru Ministry of Energy and Mines, provides detailed information on wind speed and density at three different altitudes: 50, 80 and 100 metres. In addition to encouraging energy development in Peru and increasing the country’s appeal to foreign investors, the aim of the wind atlas is to facilitate the provision of electricity to many rural areas that currently lack basic services. Living conditions in wide swaths of the country remain difficult without electricity.

Although Peru does not yet produce wind energy commercially, the Ministry of Energy and Mines has announced its intention to produce 300 MW of wind energy by 2010. Since 2007, the ministry has awarded 58 contracts for projects focused on wind-energy production, according to information released this month. The contracts, which total 9.42 GW, range from 300 MW in size to 50 MW.

The advantage offered by Meteosim TrueWind, which was crucial to its participation in the development of the wind atlas of Peru, is its use of leading technology in the sector. Considerably reducing project timeframes and costs, the technology is based on numerical calculations drawing on historical data gathered from global weather records. This makes it possible to do atmospheric simulations and assessments with much greater precision and reliability. Meteosim TrueWind’s participation in the project, which is part of an effort to encourage sustainable economic development in developing countries, reflects the firm’s commitment to “Corporate Social Responsibility” (projecte FONER), ) as one of its corporate values.

Meteosim was founded in 2003 by researchers from the University of Barcelona’s Department of Astronomy and Meteorology. In 2006, the firm joined AWS TrueWind, a US company specialising in renewable energy consulting services, to form the Meteosim TrueWind. The purpose of the joint venture has been to bolster the international expansion of its products and services to the rest of Europe, Central and South America, and Asia. The current roster of clients includes Iberdrola, Acciona, Endesa Cogeneration and Renewable Energies, Gamesa Energy, Ecotécnia, Airtricity, the World Bank, and numerous governments and energy agencies.