The construction of the largest photovoltaic solar power plant in Latin America in northern Chile, specifically in the Atacama Desert, announced the U.S. firm SunEdison.
The Amanecer Solar CAP project, which is scheduled for the first quarter of 2014, will generate 100 megawatts of power (MWp) and will involve an investment of US$ 212.5 million. The company reported that the farm will cover an area of approximately 215 hectares and will have more than 300,000 SunEdison Silvantis photovoltaic solar modules mounted on SunEdison AP90 single-axis solar trackers.
Located near the city of Copiapó, the capital of the Atacama Region, the system is expected to generate 270GWh of clean energy per year, avoiding the emission of more than 135,000 tons of CO2, which is equivalent to taking more than 30,000 cars off the road.
The local partner will be the steel company CAP, after the International Finance Corporation(IFC), linked to the World Bank, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation(OPIC), linked to the U.S. government, granted the necessary amounts for the initiative. "Solar photovoltaic energy is an ideal source for diversifying the current energy matrix, reducing energy costs and contributing to the growing demand for energy in a country that has extraordinary conditions for the development of this type of energy," commented SunEdison's regional president, Pancho Pérez.
A Solarbuzz report released in early 2013 ranked Chile as the leader in Latin America in the use of solar energy, since 51% of the photovoltaic energy produced in the area by 2017 will be generated by the country. Further behind, the market research company ranked Brazil (37%) and Mexico and Peru (2%).
The quality of Chile's airspace has already been endorsed by the main international agencies, which have decided to install the most modern astronomical observatories on the planet in areas near cities such as Antofagasta, Copiapó and La Serena.
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