Techint Engineering & Construction carried out the construction of the Tenaris’s Buena Ventura Wind Farm project in the locality of Gonzales Chaves, province of Buenos Aires. Find out more about this key project in our efforts to achieve the energy transition.

Techint E&C is making steady progress with the construction to build the Buena Ventura Wind Farm, with the civil works, including the bases for the 24 wind turbines in the farm, now complete. This is a major milestone, particularly if we look back and remember that activity only began in April 2022. Now the focus of the project is on completing the electrical side of things.

The wind farm, which is located in the town of Adolfo Gonzales Chaves in the Argentine province of Buenos Aires, will supply 50% of the electricity required by the Tenaris industrial center in Campana. Just as important is the fact that the initiative was designed to reduce the company’s CO₂ emissions by 152,000 tons per year, a critically important step forward for the Techint Group, showcasing its commitment to the energy transition and decarbonization.

The challenges

The farm is made up of 24 wind turbines that will be generating 100 MW of power. “The complex is linked by a medium voltage network divided into four circuits, which converge at the Vásquez substation. Then, the power from the turbines is sent along a six-kilometer 132 KV line to the Chaves electrical substation linking the park to the national electricity grid,” explains Verónica Elorriaga, senior Lead Planning Engineer.

So far, in 2023, the medium voltage network has been laid and all the access roads built, while commissioning tests began on June 6. Recently, culminated the assembly of the wind turbines.

One of the biggest challenges presented by this project was the tight deadlines, but thanks to the organization of the work teams and high levels of collaboration from many different sectors, the timing and deliverables agreed with Tenaris were met.

“Despite the tight timeframe, our focus has always prioritized safety, the quality of work, environmental protection, and the quality of people’s lives,” Elorriaga added.

The work to create the wind farm involved building 21 kilometers of internal roads, pouring some 18,000 m³ of concrete, and deploying approximately 2,600 tons of steel to lay the foundations for the 24 wind turbines subsequently mounted on 130-meter-high towers.

The project involves two foundation configurations designed to handle differences in groundwater levels as well as the proximity to streams and areas prone to flooding. The foundation platform for each turbine measures 24 or 28 meters in diameter and is just over 3 meters deep.

A motivating project

“Being able to work on this wind farm right from the start was both a huge challenge and a great opportunity for me. It’s been challenging because of the sheer size of the project, and a terrific opportunity to develop my know-how, as with my work group we were able to demonstrate what Techint E&C is capable of building and achieving,” enthused Guillermina Micheli, junior Concrete Design Engineer.

Elorriaga pointed out that, "this project is making a major contribution to the energy transition and is extremely ambitious and highly motivating. For me, it’s a source of great personal pride to have been part of it."

The project in numbers:

GENERAL WORKS AT THE WIND FARM

• Excavation of foundations: 48,000 m³
• Concrete poured for the foundations: 18,000 m³
• Reinforcements for the foundations: 2,000 tn
• Internal access roads: 21 km
• High-voltage linking power line of 132 kV: 6.5 km long
• Mid-voltage power line 33kV: underground line stretching some 21 km

Watch this video and meet Verónica Elorriaga and Guillermina Micheli to hear about the role they played in this grand project!