EDF La Ventosa Eléctrica del Valle de México S. de R.L. de C.V. (EVM or the Company) is currently developing and constructing a 67.5 MW greenfield wind power plant that consists of the installation of 27 Clipper Liberty wind turbine generators with a nominal capacity of 2.5 MW each, an associated substation and control facilities, and a 115 kV transmission line from the Project site to the Juchitán II substation of Comisión Federal de Electricidad (the Project).  

The Project is located in the Ejidos of La Mata and La Ventosa in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, 15 km north of the city of Juchitán in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico.  The Project is configured as a line of 20 turbines in La Mata and a separate line of seven turbines in La Ventosa, both of which are approximately 2.5 km from the nearest community.   The Isthmus of Tehuantepec has one of the most prolific wind resources globally, and the Project is expected to produce approximately 290 GWh annually on average over a 10 year period, which corresponds to approximately 49% capacity utilization.  The Project is being developed under Mexicos self-supply or autoabastecimiento framework and will supply its energy to four subsidiaries of Wal-Mart de Mexico S. A. B. de C.V. under 15-year self supply power purchase agreements.

Project construction is well advanced: all 27 turbines are erected, the substation and control facilities are complete and the transmission line is completed.   According to current estimates, the Project is expected to be complete and commissioned by year-end 2009. The Project will have a number of important benefits, including: 

(i) Supporting the Government of Mexico in its pledge to aggressively reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by  30% by 2020 and transition to a low carbon economy.  The Project is expected to generate approx. 290 GWh per annum of clean, non-fossil fuel dependent electricity generation that will displace an estimated 156,000 tCO2e per annum, leading to improved air quality and climate change mitigation; 

(ii) Contributing to economic and community development in the Ejidos of La Mata and La Ventosa, one of the poorest areas in the State of Oaxaca and Mexico.  The Project will provide an important monthly income source to the individual ejidatario landowners upon whose land the wind farm and associated transmission interconnection facilities are installed.  In addition, each of the landowners will continue to have access to and use of their land which can continue to be used for agricultural activities.  While construction is now largely complete, the Project created approx. 150 temporary local jobs under an initiative to employ local community members, including women, for unskilled labor positions during the construction phase of the Project.  In addition, EVM utilized selected construction equipment and materials, such as gravel, sourced from the local community for the Project.  Finally, in consultation and coordination with the local community, EVM will also implement and undertake a community development program following the completion of the Project to ensure continued benefits to the Ejido communities;

(iii) The Project will also have an important demonstration effect and send a market signal to global wind power developers that the Mexican wind power market is viable and ready for scale-up.  Despite the fact that the Isthmus of Tehuantepec has a world-class wind resource with average wind speeds in the 8-12 m/s range, Mexico had only 88 MW of fully-commissioned and operational wind projects at the end of 2008; with four additional wind projects (including the EVM project) completing their construction during 2009 and in various phases of final commissioning and interconnection to the Mexican power grid.   The successful completion and project financing of the incremental 67.5 MW of installed capacity of Project the will send an important signal thereby helping to catalyze and accelerate the development of wind power potential in the State of Oaxaca; and

(iv) Cumulative assessment of bird impacts will be a first in the Project geographic area and ongoing monitoring and collection of additional bird data is anticipated to eventually result in development of a standard collision risk model for avian impact assessment for the wind sector in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. This will be a significant tool for assessing wind project impacts and have a demonstration effect for the industry and would ultimately support and enable Government of Mexico policy.