Spanish firm submits million-dollar energy project for evaluation

The Solar Antofagasta project envisages two identical 250-MW plants and represents an investment of US$532.5 million. If implemented, it would be the largest project of its type so far in Chile.

The Spanish group Ibereólica Renovables has submitted the Solar Antofagasta project for environmental evaluation. Representing an investment of US$532.5 million, it envisages the construction and operation of two identical photovoltaic plants in the Antofagasta Region. If implemented, it would be the largest project of its type in Chile to date.

According to the Environmental Impact Declaration submitted to the Environmental Impact Evaluation System (SEIA), it would comprise two 250-MW plants, a 33/220 kV transformer substation and a transmission line for injection of the electricity from the transformer substation of the Solar Elena project to the Kimal substation.

The Declaration indicates that the project’s objective is to “take advantage of the high solar radiation in the Antofagasta Region to generate electricity, thus avoiding the emission of greenhouse gases and contributing to diversification of the energy matrix and the development of renewable energies in the country”.

In Chile, Ibereólica Renovables already has the Cabo Leones 1, 2 and 3 wind farms, which are at different stages of operation and construction and are located in the Atacama Region. The new project follows the start of construction last August of Enel Green Power’s Campos del Sol project, the largest solar plant in the country, located in the Atacama Region, with a capacity of around 382 MW. It is expected to come on line this year and represents an investment of US$320 million.

To learn more about renewable energy investment opportunities in Chile, see this article.

Source: Emol