Statkraft has announced that it will officially open the Cheves hydropower plant in Peru today, increasing the company's renewable energy generation in the country to 2500GWh per year.
Cheves - Statkraft's ninth power plant in Peru - is located on the Huaura river and consists of two aggregates with a total installed capacity of 172MW, with the project exploiting a gross head of 600m. The power plant is the first greenfield project developed and constructed by Statkraft alone in South America.
The plant started commercial operations in late August, and will have a annual generation of around 84GWh based on water from the Andes. The electricity generated will be sold on a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with eight local distribution companies.
"The opening of Cheves consolidates Statkraft's position among the largest power producers in Peru," commented EVP International Hydropower, Asbjørn Grundt. "It also underlines our ambition to further strengthen our position as a leading international provider of pure energy. Our efforts in South-America play a very important role in this strategy." s
Statkraft has been present in Peru since 2003, first through its subsidiary SN Power and since June 2014 as Statkraft Peru. Together with the state-owned investment fund Norfund, Statkraft now owns and operates nine hydropower plants in the country, with a total capacity of 443MW and an annual power production of about 2500GWh.
Statkraft's investments in Peru are part of the company's focus on South-America, including development, operation and maintenance of hydropower and wind power assets in Brazil, Chile and Peru. The business consists of ownership interests in 20 hydropower plants and two wind farms, an extensive power trading activity and more than 700 employees in the three countries.
