Latin America's biggest wind farm cranks up

The first 25 turbines in Latin America's biggest wind farm have gone online at the $780m (£555m) project in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Spanish energy giants Acciona Energia and Iberdrola are building the farm, which is scheduled to be completed at the end of this year and will have a total of 167 turbines.

The farm is being built in an appropriate region of Mexico as the main city is La Ventosa, which translates as The Windy.

The 2,500-hectare farm is on the narrow isthmus between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, where average winds blow at 15mph to 22mph – a near ideal speed for turbines.

Acciona is investing $550m and is partnering with Mexico's cement giant Cemex, to generate 250MW of energy for the company, covering around a quarter of its annual power requirements and cutting its CO2 emissions by 600,000 tonnes each year.

Meanwhile, Iberdrola is investing $170m and will draw 95MW from the farm, which will be used to supply a range of high-profile Mexican firms, including grocery store chain Soriana and brewery Cervecera Moctezuma.

The remaining $60m was provided by Acciona, Iberdrola and Cemex to cover the cost of the infrastructure needed to connect to Mexico's grid.

The Mexican government hopes the country's emerging wind and solar industries can help compensate for falling oil production, which was down 9.2 per cent in 2008.

"The intensity of wind in various parts of the country can make our plants among the most efficient in the world," energy secretary Georgina Kessel told reporters at the opening of the new facility.

Last year, Mexico became the first major emerging economy to commit an emissions reduction target, announcing it would halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 based on 2002 levels.