The National Energy Commission (CNE) of Chile has completed the country's latest renewable energy auction, awarding contracts to supply 2.31 GWh renewable energy annually to 5 winning companies. These were identified as Canadian Solar Libertador Solar Holding SpA, Opde Chile SpA, Sonnedix PPA Holding SpA, Racó Energía SpA and Parque Eólico San Andrés SpA.
Lowest winning bid was confirmed as $0.01332 per kWh, and most offers were received between $0.021 per kWh and $0.028 per kWh with an average winning price of $0.02378 per kWh. The average price is around 27% lower than the November 2017 round when it was discovered as $0.0325 per kWh (see Average Price Of $32.5/MWh At Chile Auction).
While the agency did not specify the company offering the lowest winning bid, a local daily La Tercera had previously reported Canadian Solar Libertador as the one (see $0.013/kWh L1 Bid For Chilean RE Auction).
Offers were submitted by 29 national and international companies for a total of 18,820 GWh of clean energy. Winning bidders need to bring their projects online by 2026 and start supplying clean energy to the national grid for 15 years to be used by thousands of homes and small and medium enterprises (SME).
Opdenergy confirmed winning a contract for 819 GWh annually for 24-hour period which it plans to generate through wind and solar capacity exceeding 600 MW. It won 39 of the 110 sub-blocks auctioned for the 3 time slots. The 819 GWh annually represents 35% of the total amount offered and 100% of the energy the company said it bid for.
On the other hand, Sonnedix said it had won 39% of the capacity awarded in the tender, representing 903 GWh annually. The company said this would allow it to build around 424 MW in solar PV projects for an investment of close to $300 million.
"Today Chilean families should be very happy with the results of this electricity tender," said CNE's Executive Secretary Jose Venegas. "100% of the energy we award today is renewable, clean energy, which is equivalent to approximately 2 GW of installed capacity in new renewable projects and storage, and which we expect will attract close to $2 billion in investment in new infrastructure for the country."