UNIVERSIDAD DE EL SALVADOR

Master's Degree in Renewable Energies and Environment - May 24th, 2020

Wind Energy: Basic Concepts, Global And El Salvador´s Condition

Mancía Gregorio1, Navarrete Ricardo2, Torres Jose3
1
Department of Postgraduate, University of El Salvador, at the end of the North 25th Ave. “Mártires 30 de Julio”, San
Salvador, El Salvador.
2
Department of Postgraduate, University of El Salvador, at the end of the North 25th Ave. “Mártires 30 de Julio”, San
Salvador, El Salvador.
3
Department of Postgraduate, University of El Salvador, at the end of the North 25th Ave. “Mártires 30 de Julio”, San
Salvador, El Salvador.

sigfre.roque@gmail.com
ricardonavarrete96@gmail.com
j2tamaya@gmail.com

Keywords: El Salvador, wind energy, Ventus Energy, Renewable Energy Master Plan project

ABSTRACT

Wind power has traditionally been used as the driving force of sailing ships and to power windmills. The use of this type of energy was
falling into disuse with the diffusion of electricity and with the wide availability and low cost of motors powered by fossil fuels.
However, the recent attention paid to climate change, the need to increase the share of clean energy, and the fear of less availability of
oil in the future have renewed interest in the production of energy from renewable sources and, therefore, also of wind power. This type
of energy, unlike other renewable energies, requires less investment and uses a natural resource that is usually available everywhere and
especially useful in temperate zones, where most of the industrially developed nations are located. In El Salvador, Wind Energy has
arrived. Since 2005 with the generation of wind maps by SWERA (Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment) it has been
discovered that there are some places in the country with Wind Potential. As a result of many investigations from Japan and Finland,
government support and private investment is now a reality the construction of Ventus Energy which will be the first wind farm of El
Salvador.

1. INTRODUCTION
Nowadays wind energy is one of the fastest growing renewable energy technologies, many countries of the world have strong wind
speeds, giving the wind energy a great opportunity to grow and promote the investigation of new technologies to take advantage of this
energy.

This document contains an overview of the wind energy, the way that it works in general and some advantages and disadvantages with
the use of the wind power to generate energy and a quick explanation of the basic parts of a wind turbine.

A short look at the current status of wind energy in the world, places this technology as one of the most promising ones and it proves to
be one of the most mature technologies in many countries in Europe and some other countries as China, which we can see further in this
document. We can also check some of the effects of the current global crisis of the covid-19 above the growth of this technology.

Even when we talk as the wind energy as one of the most promising renewable technologies globally, El Salvador has proven to be a
country with poor capacity of wind generation according to CNE and JICA in 2012, a quick view to an estimated energy production
potential in some places of El Salvador give us an idea of the poor capacity of generation in the country.

We can check the renewable energy master plan to see some of the advances to promote the exploitation of the wind energy (and the
other renewable energy technologies) in the country as the exemption of some payments for example. However, even when El Salvador
is not one of the most promising countries to work with wind power, the first wind energy project is in progress at Metapán and pointing
to be the beginning of the exploitation of the wind energy in the country.

2. GENERAL
2.1. Wind power. What it is, how it works, advantages, and disadvantages.
Wind energy has become a key source of electricity generation for changing the energy model, cleaner, and more sustainable. Improved
technology allows some wind farms to produce electricity as cheaply as coal or nuclear power plants do (Factorenergia, 2018)
A type of kinetic energy produced by the effect of air currents. We can convert this energy into electricity through an electric generator.
The largest producer of wind energy in the world is the United States, followed by Germany, China, India, and Spain. In Latin America
the largest producer is Brazil. In Spain, wind energy supplied electricity to the equivalent of 12 million homes, this is 18% of the
country's needs (Source AEE).

A wind turbine is made up of the tower; an orientation system located at the end of the tower, at its upper end; a power grid coupling
cabinet attached to the base of the tower; a gondola that is the frame that houses the mechanical components of the mill and that serves
as the base for the blades; a shaft and rotor control ahead of the blades; and inside the nacelle, a brake, a multiplier, the generator, and
the electrical regulation system.
Mancía Gregorio, Navarrete Ricardo, Torres

Figure 1. Wind turbine. (Factorenergia, 2018)

2.2. Advantages of wind energy

▪ It is an inexhaustible source of energy: Wind is an abundant and inexhaustible source; it is available in many parts of the world.
▪ It takes up little space: To produce and accumulate the same amount of electrical energy, a wind field needs less land than a
photovoltaic energy field. Furthermore, it is reversible, which means that the area occupied by the park can be easily restored
to renew the existing territory.
▪ It does not pollute: it does not imply a combustion process; it does not produce toxic gases or any solid waste. A wind turbine
reaches an energy capacity similar to that of 1,000 kg of oil.
▪ Low cost: The cost per kW produced is quite low in very windy areas. In some cases, the cost of production is the same as that
of coal and even nuclear power.
▪ It is compatible with other activities: The agricultural and livestock activity coexists harmoniously with the activity of a wind
farm.

2.3. Disadvantages of wind energy

▪ The wind is not guaranteed: The wind is relatively unpredictable, therefore production forecasts are not always met, the wind
turbines only work correctly with gusts of wind between 10 and 40 km / h. At lower speeds, the energy is not profitable and at
higher speeds, it poses a physical risk to the structure.

▪ Non-storable energy: This is an energy that cannot be stored, but must be consumed immediately when it is produced. Impact
on the landscape

▪ Large wind farms have a strong landscape impact and are visible from long distances. The average height of the
towers/turbines ranges from 50 to 80 meters, with rotating blades that rise another 40 meters. The aesthetic impact on the
landscape sometimes generates discomfort in the local population.

▪ Affect birds: Wind farms can harm birds, especially among nocturnal birds of prey. The impact on birds is because the
rotating blades can move at a speed of up to 70 km / h. Birds are unable to visually recognize the blades at this speed, fatally
colliding with them. (Factorenergia, 2018)
 Mancía Gregorio, Navarrete Ricardo, Torres

Figure 2. Wind energy benefits.

2.4. News of wind energy in the world.

Most wind power facilities in 2019 were located in established markets, with the top 5 markets (China, USA, UK, India, and Spain)
accounting for 70 percent of new capacity. In terms of cumulative facilities, China, USA. The US, Germany, India, and Spain remain
the main markets, collectively representing 73 percent of the total 651 GW of wind power capacity worldwide. (Reve, 2020)
Total global wind power capacity now exceeds 651 GW, an increase of 10% compared to 2018.

China and the USA USA remain the largest onshore wind farm markets in the world and together account for over 60% of new capacity
in 2019. (Reve, 2020)

Figure 3. Global wind and solar capacity. (Roca, 2018)

2.5. America

North, Central, South, and Caribbean America installed 13.4 GW of wind power capacity in 2019, an increase of 13% over 2018
facilities. Total installed wind capacity in North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean now exceeds 148 GW, tripling wind
power capacity in the region in the last 10 years.

Regulatory and political instability in the main Latin American wind energy markets along with the trade war between the United States
and China will be the main challenges to further accelerate the growth of wind energy in the Americas. Markets to watch in the region
include Colombia and Chile. (Reve, 2020)
 Mancía Gregorio, Navarrete Ricardo, Torres
2.6. Main components of a wind turbine.
To exploit the kinetic energy of the wind, converting it into electrical energy available for injection into the grid or to feed loads in
parallel, a wind turbine incorporates various components, both mechanical and electrical.

Figure 4. Main Components of a horizontal axis wind turbine

Figure 5. Percentage cost of the components of a wind turbine.

3. WIND ENERGY GLOBAL LOOK

To talk about the current status of the Wind Energy we need to do it with two different classifications:

3.1. Offshore Wind

Offshore wind capacity has increased from 3GW in operation in 2010 to 23GW in 2018. Annual deployment has increased by nearly
30% per year, higher than any other source of electricity except solar photovoltaics (PV). By mid-2019, there were over 5 500 offshore
turbines connected to a grid in 17 countries. (IEA, 2019)

This trend has been adopted in European Countries bordering the North Seas, the good climatic and geographic conditions as the high
quality winds and shallow water has helped to improve the development of these technologies accompanied by the support of stable
policies provided by the governments. (IEA, 2019)

The United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Denmark together added 2.7 GW of capacity in 2018 alone. China has
recently taken strides forward on offshore wind and now stands among the market leaders. In 2018, China added 1.6 GW of offshore
wind capacity,
 Mancía Gregorio, Navarrete Ricardo, Torres
the most of any country. This rapid growth has been driven by the government’s 13th Five-Year Plan, which called for 5 GW of
offshore wind capacity to be completed by 2020, and for the establishment of supply chains to support further expansion thereafter.
(IEA, 2019)

Figure 6. Increase of offshore wind from 2010 to 2018 per country. (IEA, 2019)

The current timeline includes about 150 new offshore wind projects, about 100 of those projects are scheduled to be finished in 2021,
indicating a reasonable increase of this technology to that year. In 2018, more than 80% of global installed offshore wind capacity was
located in Europe. Around 8 GW, one-third of the total, was in the United Kingdom and 6.5 GW in Germany, with Denmark,
Netherlands and Belgium providing a further 3.6 GW between them. Even as a relative newcomer, China already has 3.6 GW of
offshore wind capacity. (IEA, 2019)

3.2. Onshore Wind

Onshore wind-generated electricity increased an estimated 12% in 2018, remaining the largest non-hydro renewable technology and
generating more than all the others combined. Generation growth was slower than in 2017, however, following the lower global
capacity expansion of 2015-17 and the return to normal levels of wind generation in Europe after a windy 2017. Globally, onshore wind
capacity additions increased by 7% to 46 GW in 2018.

China's onshore wind capacity expansion rebounded from 14 GW in 2017 to 19 GW in 2018 as the government lifted development bans
in certain regions in response to relaxing curtailment levels since 2016.

Figure 7. Onshore wind annual global capacity additions, 2016-2018. (EIA, 2020)
 Mancía Gregorio, Navarrete Ricardo, Torres
3.3. Current status of wind energy and projects

Renewable energy capacity additions were set to achieve great growth in 2020 after an amazing growth in 2019. (IEA, 2020)

Figure 8. Renewable electricity capacity additions by technology. (IEA, 2019)

However, the current global crisis has affected the growth projections for all technologies, wind energy projects will be delayed in many
countries as United States, China, India and the European Union, all this, due to the changes of the policies and the disruption in the
supply chains caused by the crisis. This decline is mainly driven by project delays rather than cancellations, thus leading to a recovery in
2021. Despite a rebound in 2021, combined expected onshore wind growth in 2020 and 2021 is still lower than in our October 2019
forecast by 9%. (IEA, 2020)

The wind energy sector has developed a globally interconnected supply chain, with manufacturing dispersed across all continents.
China, Europe, the United States and India are major manufacturing hubs for various wind turbine parts. The assembly of a complete
wind turbine usually requires inputs from multiple countries, seamless logistics and timely delivery.

However, recent lockdowns in major manufacturing hubs have disrupted wind turbine supply chains. In February, China’s wind
manufacturing plants mostly paused production, followed by shutdowns in Italy and Spain in March due to strict confinement measures.
In late March lockdown in India required wind turbine component manufacturers to halt production. Although production is gradually
restarting in Europe, China and India, the effects of supply chain disruptions are being felt in almost all markets. (IEA, 2020)

The installed capacity of wind energy per year according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is shown in figure 9.
(IRENA, 2020)

Figure 9. Installed capacity trends. (IRENA, 2020).

 Mancía Gregorio, Navarrete Ricardo, Torres
4. WIND ENERGY IN EL SALVADOR

El Salvador is a region with a poor capacity of wind generation (CNE & JICA, 2012). In 2005 SWERA (Solar and Wind Energy
Resource Assessment) made a wind map in which they determined that there are some areas with wind potential in septentrional and
occidental zones as shown in figure 10. From June 2006 to July 2007 Meteorological Institute of Finland focused its attention in four
places with potential of generation. As a result of measurements, they find that high production of energy will occur at Metapán, the
results of the study are shown in table 1.

Figure 10. Wind map made by SWERA in 2005 (CNE & JICA, 2012).

Table 1. Estimated annual energy production in different places of El Salvador (CNE & JICA, 2012).

Estimated annual energy

Places in El Salvador
production (GWh)
La Hachadura 0.670
Metapan 1.340
Monteca 0.625
San Isidro 0.844

The area where the wind reaches 700 W/m2 at 50 meters above ground level is considered acceptable for wind generation. Despite
many studies about wind potential for several years, there aren’t wind turbines connected to El Salvador’s electrical network ( CNE &
JICA, 2012).

In the Master Plan for the Development of Renewable Energies, it is stated that CEL has purposes for the future development of wind
farms. The following table shows the average annual wind speed at 60 meters above ground level and the planned capacity at the
candidate sites within the wind farm plan for El Salvador.

Table 2. Average wind velocity per year above ground level and estimated capacity for different places of El Salvador ( CNE &
JICA, 2012).

Average wind velocity

Estimated Capacity
Places in El Salvador per year above
(MW)
ground level (m/s)

Metapán 6.43 42

San Julian 5.38 30

In table 2 can be seen that the place that sounds the most for the installation of a wind power plant is Metapán, by many called the city
of winds. Going forward, in figure 11 can be seen that there is a relation between capacity factor by month of hydroelectric power plant
“15 de Septiembre” and wind speed by month at Metapán (CNE & JICA, 2012).
 Mancía Gregorio, Navarrete Ricardo, Torres

Figure 11. Relation between capacity factor and wind velocity monthly (CNE & JICA, 2012)

From the graphic can be seen that at Metapán, wind energy generation would be higher between October and April, when capacity
factor is lower at hydroelectric power plant “15 de Septiembre”. This observation can be of great help to supply part of El Salvador's
energy demand with renewable energy during the dry period (CNE & JICA, 2012). El Salvador is a country highly dependent on
petroleum derivatives for the generation of electrical energy. In figure 12 is shown the generation of electrical energy from May 2019 to
May 2020 according to the technology used.

Generation by technology may 2019- may 2020

6%
GRNC HYDRAULIC
INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE
GAS TURBINE

38% 27% STEAM TURBINE

29%

Figure 12. Generation by technology form May 2019 to May 2020 (Unidad de Transacciones, 2020)

Despite the fact that since the implementation of the Renewable Energy Master Plan project dependence on the generation of electrical
energy from fossil fuels has decreased, currently 29% of El Salvador’s demand is covered with oil derivatives. According to data from
the “Unidad de Transacciones” on May 19th , 2020 the total demand was 0.79 GWh, which means that 229.1 MWh were generated with
non-renewable energy sources. These numbers, although they have been reduced, are alarming and justify the fact that more investment
is needed in generation plants with renewable sources.

Implementation barriers for this type of energy were visualized in the Renewable Energy Master Plan written in 2012, these are:

● Regulation / Technical Guideline: Proposes the preparation of a document that involves issues on the management of the
power factor through capacitor banks connected at the point of delivery of the distributor and not at the contactors of the wind
turbine; take special care with the generation of voltage Flicker; Filtering the harmonics before supplying power to the
electrical network,
 Mancía Gregorio, Navarrete Ricardo, Torres
a harmonic distortion of less than 3% is generally acceptable; Lastly, suggest the disconnection of any wind turbine at the time
of a failure.
● Engineers: The operation of wind power plants requires trained personnel to face the challenges of these plants. An answer to
this need has been given by the University of El Salvador, Don Bosco University, and Jose Simeon Cañas University through
its Master's Degree in Renewable Energies and Environment, currently taught solely by the UES.
● Operation and Maintenance Costs: O&M costs must be considered before the installation of the power plant since they
constitute a substantial part of the total annual costs of a wind turbine.

4.1. Advances in wind energy since the presentation of the renewable energy master plan

Since November 8, 2007, Legislative Decree No. 462 issued the Fiscal Incentives Law for the Promotion of Renewable Energies in
Electricity Generation. This combined with the government's initiative to diversify the energy mix of El Salvador has been the engine to
attract foreign investment.

Among the most attractive articles for investors that Decree No. 462 contains are:

"Art. 3. A) During the first ten years, they will be exempt from the payment of Import Duty Duties for machinery, equipment, materials,
and supplies intended exclusively for pre-investment and investment work in the construction of the works of the plants for the
generation of electrical energy, including the construction of the sub-transmission line necessary to transport the energy from the
generation plant to the transmission and/or electrical distribution networks ”(Legislative Decree No. 462, 2007)

"Art. 3 B) Exemption from the payment of Income Tax for a period of five (5) years in the case of projects between 10 and 20
megawatts (MW) and ten (10) years in the case of projects of less than 10 megawatts MW; in both cases, from the entry into
commercial operation of the Project, corresponding to the year” (Legislative Decree No. 462, 2007)

"Art. 3 C) Total exemption from paying all kinds of taxes on income derived directly from the sale of "Certified Emission Reductions"
(CERs) under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) or similar carbon markets, obtained for the projects qualified and benefited
under this Law […] Those projects with more than 20 megawatts (MW) of capacity, may be deducted from Income Tax, for a maximum
period of ten years or that has concluded with said processes, if these were in less than said period, all the expenses or costs
indispensable for the investigation, exploration, and preparation of projects generating electric energy based on renewable energy
sources, as well as projects for total reinjection of the geothermal resource. ” (Legislative Decree No. 462, 2007)

This legal framework is what has motivated foreign investment in renewable energy in the country. In 2017 Tracia Network Corporation
was the winner of a tender for the generation of 170 MW of energy power based on wind and solar photovoltaic generation sources
(Reve, 2017).

The 170 MW will be distributed in 5 projects: one for wind energy and four for photovoltaic solar energy. The wind farm to be built is
projected to have 54 MW of installed capacity through the Guajoyo electrical substation ( Reve, 2017). The location of the turbines will
be in Metapán, Santa Ana, as a result of the studies carried out since before the publication of the Renewable Energy Master Plan.

The experience of the company that will build the first wind farm in El Salvador is extensive in the region. Tracia Network Corporation
is the builder of the San Antonio El Sitio wind farm, located in Guatemala with an installed capacity of 52.8 MW (Eólico San Antonio
El Sitio, 2020). In Nicaragua this company has developed the Amayo 1 and 2 wind projects with installed powers of 39.9 MW and 23.1
MW respectively, which entered into operation in phase I in 2009 and phase II in 2010 (OLADE, 2011).

4.2. Project progress

The first wind farm in El Salvador, called Ventus Energy, is currently 30% complete and is expected to be operational in the last quarter
of 2020 (Orellana, 2019). Advances in wind projects depend a lot on the supply of specialized technology and one of the biggest
challenges will be the transfer of mechanical equipment from the port of Acajutla to Metapán. They are 15 towers 120 meters’ high each
with three 67-meter blades in one piece (Orellana, 2019). The engineering challenge for the transportation of this equipment is very high
because roads in El Salvador have very sharp curves and are generally not very wide. The option of transportation by air is even more
complicated because blades are designed to be very sensitive to the kinetic action of the wind, and could also resonate at the time of
transportation, causing permanent damage to mechanical equipment.

On April 5, 2020, the first components arrive from China to continue with the construction of the wind farm (Orellana, 2020). This has
been the last update on the Ventus project. The logistics for the transportation of the components is currently unknown.
 Mancía Gregorio, Navarrete Ricardo, Torres

Figure 13. Mechanical equipment from China at Acajutla's port (Orellana, 2020)

Some of the benefits that the execution of the project brings to El Salvador are the reduction of the oil bill of approximately USD $
14,000,000 annually, the diversification of the energy mix and the generation of 20 direct and 300 indirect jobs. In addition, it favors
compliance with environmental measures and agreements acquired for renewable energy (Concejo Nacional de la Energía, 2019). Wind
energy, in addition to involving avoiding the annual emission of some 200,000 tons of CO2, has the advantage that it is not affected by
the volatility of oil prices, unlike thermal ones (Orellana, 2020).

5. CONCLUSION

The increasing dependence on the generation of energy from fossil fuels has generated negative environmental impacts around the
world. The kinetic energy of the wind has been used since before the discovery of electricity, industrialization, and modernization. Now,
humanity has had to turn its gaze to the past to retake the principles of windmills and adapt them for the generation of clean energy. El
Salvador is taking important steps in the construction of the first wind farm in the country, following the footsteps of Guatemala,
Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Thanks to the guidelines and research developed by Japan and delivered through the Renewable Energy
Master Plan and the approval of Legislative Decree No. 462, it was possible that in 2019 started the construction of Ventus Energy, the
first wind farm in El Salvador located at Metapán with an installed capacity of 54 MW. Although the engineering challenges of project
execution are great, it is worth the effort to expand the country's energy mix with a new type of alternative energy source.

6. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to the contributions of the scientific community and the efforts that each country individually establishes to develop new forms
of clean energy that allow the sustainable continuity of the main cause of the climatic variations observed in recent decades, such as
anthropogenic emissions, that is, caused by human activities. The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997, as the first binding agreement on the
fight against climate change, in which legally binding emission reduction targets were established. To the Paris Agreement, which is an
agreement within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that establishes measures for the
reduction of emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) through the mitigation, adaptation and resilience of ecosystems for the purposes of
Global Warming; to them who are constantly focused on developing more efficient clean energy sources to urgently improve the current
conditions of our planet. (Society, 2020) (Paris, 2020) (Amaya, 2020)

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Concejo Nacional de la Energía. (2019). First stability contract signed with Wind Energy project. https://www.cne.gob.sv/?itrans-
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Eólico San Antonio El Sitio. (2020). Parque: Descripción del proyecto. https://esagt.com/parque.php

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https://webstore.iea.org/download/direct/2886?filename=offshore_wind_outlook_2019.pdf

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https://www.renenergyobservatory.org/uploads/media/Nicaragua_Producto_1_y_2 Esp_.pdf
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Orellana, J. (2019). El Salvador: proyecto eólico de Metapán lleva 30 % de avance. https://www.eleconomista.net/tendencias/El-
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Unidad de Transacciones. (2020). Generación por tecnología mayo de 2019 a mayo de 2020.
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