Source: Cemex, S.A.B. de C.V.

Cemex announced today that the installation of the 167 wind turbines of the EURUS wind farm was completed on November 15 in Juchitan, Oaxaca, Mexico. The company has been the promoter of this project developed by the joint venture between Cemex and ACCIONA. Part of the energy generated by EURUS will supply approximately 25 percent of Cemex's energy needs in its Mexican cement plants. ACCIONA financed, constructed, and manages the wind farm.

The installation of wind turbines in the park was initiated in July 2008 and the wind turbines were connected to the electrical grid in February 2009. After the conclusion of the assembly of the wind turbines, the wind farm will be operative in the coming weeks. The wind farm represents a major contribution towards the global effort that Cemex is making to reduce its emissions footprint and to become more sustainable. Luis Farías, vice-president of Energy and Climate Change at Cemex said: “The completion of the installation of the EURUS wind turbines indicates that Mexico has the conditions for private investments in electric power generation projects.”

“Thanks to a transparent regulatory framework made by the Mexican energy authorities and the Mexican State power generation companies it was possible to develop the infrastructure and create the conditions necessary to develop the largest wind power generation project in Latin America,” he added.

EURUS is located in Juchitan, in the Southern Mexican State of Oaxaca in a 2,500 hectare area in the Tehuantepec Isthmus, an area well-known for its wind resources. The energy that will be produced by EURUS is estimated to be sufficient to power a Mexican city of 500,000 inhabitants, reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 600 thousand metric tons each year, which is approximately 25 percent of the total emissions generated by such a community. 

EURUS will be one of the largest wind farms in the world and the second largest in terms of emissions reduction registered under the Clean Development Mechanism of the United Nations (Kyoto Protocol). It will also have one of the largest emission reduction indexes per installed capacity in the world. The project created more than 850 direct jobs in the area during the phase of construction and is generating an economic impact of more than 20 million pesos per year in the region.