Work starts on Arctic Circle wind farm

Energy company Enel Russia, a subsidiary of Enel Green Power, has begun construction on the largest renewable wind farm beyond the Arctic Circle.

Kolskaya wind farm, located in the Murmansk region of Russia, will have an installed capacity of 201MW. The company was awarded the project as part of a Russian government tender in 2017, which called for the construction of 1.9GW of wind capacity in the country.

Costing €273 million, the facility will comprise 57 turbines over a 257 hectare area and will produce around 750GWh per year. Enel said its construction would avoid 600,000 tonnes of CO² emissions being released into the atmosphere each year. Work on the wind farm is expected to be completed in 2021.

Antonio Cammisecra, head of Enel Green Power, said, “Through the opening of this second construction site in Russia, we are taking the next step in the strengthening of our renewable portfolio in this country. Looking ahead, we are committed to scouting for further renewable opportunities in Russia while continuing to build and develop our current projects, leveraging on our strong presence and expertise in the area to progressively build a truly low-carbon footprint in Russia.”

Kolskaya wind farm is the third renewable energy project being constructed by Enel Russia. The company is also building the 90MW Azov wind project in Russia’s Rostov region and the 71MW, Rodnikovsky wind farm in the Stavropol region.