First published in the Quoted Cleantech newsletter, January 2011. Copyright Cleantech Investor 2011

panish wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa is teaming up with Eolia Renovables de Inversiones – a leading independent European wind energy operator – to develop 324MW of wind energy projects in Mexico.

The agreement involves Gamesa supplying a total of 162 of its G9X-2MW turbines to the Eoliatec del Istmo and Eoliatec del Pacifico wind farm projects in the state of Oaxaca over the next two years. The deal will also see the turnkey construction of the wind farms, including transport, assembly, erection and start-up, as well as operation and maintenance services.

According to Gamesa, Mexico offers significant growth potential in the medium-to-long term. While the country had 582MW of installed wind assets at the end of 2009, forecasts estimate that there will be around 7GW of installed wind capacity by 2025 (source: Emerging Energy Research).

The state of Oaxaca, where Gamesa and Eolia plan to install their projects, is already host to nearly all the wind farms currently in operation in Mexico.

Gamesa also announced a contract to supply 120MW of turbines to the Windstar wind project at the Tehachapi Pass in southern California. This will be the largest wind farm developed to date by Western Wind Energy, a Vancouver-based company that also has wind power projects in Arizona and Ontario.