- Chile has awarded close to 17,000-hectare land in Antofagasta for the development of around 2.8 GW wind and solar energy capacity
- It would comprise over 1.746 GW of wind and 1.034 GW of solar power capacity along with 480 MW of storage
- List of winners include AES Gener, EDF, Enel Green Power (EGP), Statkraft, Grenergy Renovables Pacific, and Ibereolica Group
- The Ministry of National Assets called it the largest tender of the last decade in terms of land for the development of renewable energies
The Ministry of Energy and National Assets in Chile has allocated around 17,000-hectare land to enable the development of 2.8 GW hybrid wind and solar power capacity. This, it claims, is the largest tender of the last decade in terms of land for the development of renewable energies.
This 2.779 GW or 2.8 GW capacity will be located on 9 properties within the Taltal Wind Reserve in Antofagasta region. This capacity corresponds to 11% of the installed capacity of the National Electric System and is made up of 1.746 GW of wind energy and 1.034 GW of solar energy, along with 480 MW of storage capacity.
Among the winners are AES Gener, EDF, Enel Green Power (EGP), Statkraft, Grenergy Renovables Pacific that have won claim to 3.599.88 hectares, while the single largest block of land was won by Ibereolica Group. The awarded projects committed an investment of over $3.1 billion.
“This type of tenders, which we have carried out in conjunction with the Ministry of National Assets, adapting them to the requirements that the energy sector has today, are the ones that allow attracting new investments, provide legal certainty and allow us to continue advancing in an accelerated manner in our process of decarbonizing our energy matrix,” said Chile’s Energy Minister Francisco Lopez.
The tender was launched by the ministry in July 2021 offering 20,369-hectare land to encourage the development of more than 2 GW of renewable energy facilities in Antofagasta (see Chile To Provide 20,369 Hectare Land For RE Projects).
With this auctioned land, the Ministry of National Assets counts having granted more than 105,000 hectares of land for the development of wind and solar energy in the country, under a policy initiated a decade back.
Chile has moved up its withdrawal from coal-fired power plants deadline from 2040 to 2030 as indicated in its National Energy Policy draft, and is making arrangements to put in place enabling conditions for this capacity to be replaced by low-carbon renewable energy and storage along with necessary transmission infrastructure.
