A third of the regional investment plan will go to Chile over the next four years, the company’s general manager in Chile, Alfredo Solar, told PAUTA.

Chile’s green hydrogen strategy, which was launched yesterday, has three objectives: to produce the world’s cheapest green hydrogen by 2030, to be among the three largest exporters by 2040, and to have 5 GW of electrolysis capacity under development by 2025.

The electricity company’s acquisition of London-based Solarcentury significantly expands its presence in the Chilean renewable energy market.

Through openness to foreign investment, the initiative seeks to transform Chile into a global center for green hydrogen research, development, production and export.

The initiative forms part of Andes Renovables, a wind and solar generation platform worth approximately US$1,800 million.

The project, in which state oil company ENAP, Siemens Energy and Porsche are also expected to participate as partners, consists of a wind turbine that powers an electrolyzer to separate the oxygen and hydrogen molecules contained in water, a process that does not emit CO₂.

Chile’s government is considering ways to boost the attractiveness of green-hydrogen projects as the biggest copper-producing nation strives to become carbon neutral.

The state power company has embarked on an active quest for projects in Chile, particularly wind and solar projects, in order to “gain scale”, says its general manager, María Teresa González.

“Chile could export $ 30 billion in green hydrogen by 2050,” said Juan Carlos Jobet, the country’s energy minister. “This is the amount of copper that we export today.”

The Parque Terra Energía Renovable project would be located in the Taltal municipal district of the Antofagasta Region and would represent an investment of US$ 750 million. 

The company has obtained financing of over US$100 million for non-conventional renewable energy projects in the O’Higgins and Atacama Regions.

The South American country’s priorities include changing its energy matrix to a model based on renewable energies.

The CEO of the Spanish company indicated that it has gradually increased its stake in the GNL Quintero regasification plant in which it currently holds 45.4%.

The amount from three international banks will allow the operation to refinance liabilities and add 60 MW to its installed capacity.

The investment will total 841 million euros. Solarcentury has a global pipeline of 6 GWp and is currently building 644 MWp of projects in Europe.

The French company’s subsidiary in Chile has paid US$53 million for the Monte Redondo Wind Farm and the Laja Hydroelectric Plant, both of which it already operated.

Europe’s largest electricity company said that the green hydrogen will be used to store energy or will be sold to industrial clients to assist them in their decarbonization processes, in a bid to speed up its plans to become a carbon-free power producer by 2050.

The executive of the Spanish company talks about the consequences of the pandemic in Chile and the world, assuring that, in Chile, the company “is a long-term investor”.   

A recent report released by Canadian mining company Capstone Mining about its Santo Domingo project in the Atacama Region sets out solid arguments for extracting cobalt from the deposit.

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.