Ecuador inaugurates hydroelectric power station built by Chinese firm

Ecuador on Tuesday inaugurated the Minas-San Francisco hydroelectric power station built by Chinese firm Harbin Electric International at the Pacific watershed between the southern provinces of Azuay and El Oro.

The completion of the work demonstrates that challenges were overcome from all engineering points, said William Barcenes, manager of the business unit of the Ecuadorian Electric Corporation, which manages the power station.

The support of the communities in the area was essential to the project, he added.

Daniel Merchan, leader of the local San Sebastian community, highlighted the social compensation efforts made during the construction of the power station.

Carlos Perez, minister of Energy and Non-renewable Natural Resources, also attended the event.

The power station, with a capacity of 270 megawatts of installed power, will contribute to the National Interconnected System with an estimated annual production of 1,290 gigawatt hours of renewable energy, benefitting 222,000 families in southern Ecuador.

The project is considered by the Ecuadorian government to be one of the most important in the energy sector since it complements others located in the Amazon watershed.

In addition, it will help cut 690,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year on average by reducing the use of fossil fuels.

Harbin Electric International, dedicated to investigating, developing, producing and building devices for power plants, kicked off the construction of the plant in 2011.

The power station makes use of the potency of the Jubones River, which has an average annual flow of 48.3 cubic meters per second. It features a reservoir of 14 million cubic meters, of which 6 million are to be used for normal operation.