Santo Domingo.- The Inter-American Development Bank approved two loans for a total of $78.3 million to support the construction of two wind farm plants in the Dominican Republic, the Website evwind.es reports. The wind energy projects, part of the country’s new investment in electric power production, will add a total of 80.6 megawatts to the existing electricity production capacity, estimated at 3000 megawatts.

Evwind.es said the new wind farms, which are being developed by private companies, reflect the growing confidence in the Dominican energy sector. Progress in the sector’s operating management, the new leadership of the the State-owned Power Companies (CDEEE) and the development of a strategic plan represent determining factors for the sector’s future development of the sector and plans to expand sources of energy production.

“These wind farm plants, among the first to be constructed in the Dominican Republic, will help the country diversify its energy matrix, which currently depends almost exclusively on fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas for electricity production,” evwind.es said. “The wind power projects will take advantage of incentives created by a recent law to develop electricity production from nontraditional, renewable sources.”

A $50.7 million loan will support the Parques Eólicos del Caribe (PECASA) project, under development by a business consortium made up of Gamesa, Grupo Delta Intur, Aquiles Mateo and Miguel Ángel Muñiz, to install 25 Gamesa G90 wind turbines with a capacity of 2 megawatts each in the locality of Guanillo, in the northwestern province of Monte Cristi. The total cost of this wind farm is estimated at $127 million.

It said that another $27.6 million loan to Grupo Eólico Dominicano, a company controlled by the Spanish group Inveravante, will help finance the installation of 17 Vestas V90 wind turbines, with a capacity of 1.8 megawatts each, in the locality of Baní, southern Peravia province, west of Santo Domingo. The total cost of this wind farm will be on the order of $68.9 million.