The president of the Mexican Republic, Felipe Calderón, recently inaugurated what is being described as the largest wind park in Latin America in Mexico.

The first stage of the Eurus wind park in Oaxaca has been inaugurated. The new, $550 million project is in a region so breezy that the main town is named La Ventosa, or "Windy".

At this time, 37.5 MW are already in place at the park and the facility is expected to come into operation during the fourth quarter of 2009.

Acciona Energy is constructing the 250.5 MW wind park in Oaxaca, whose power will be bought by the Mexican cement company Cemex for its own use. The park, named Eurus, represents an investment of 550 million dollars (427 million euros) and will be the largest in Latin America in terms of installed power.

The park is located in southern Mexico, on an estate that covers 2,500 hectares, leased in the Ejido La Venta in the Tehuantepec isthmus.

Eurus is a self-supply project developed by Acciona and Cemex. It will consist of 167 wind turbines of 1.5 MW each, employing Acciona Windpower technology.

The power generated at the Eurus wind park would be enough to cover the power needs of a city of 500,000 people and will avoid the equivalent emission of 600,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Energy Secretary Georgina Kessel, according to AP, said the government is planning a series of wind projects that by 2012 should generate 2,500 megawatts of electricity. "The intensity of wind in various parts of the country can make our plants among the most efficient in the world," she said.