100 MW Of New Solar Projects Connected To The Grid In Chile

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95.9 MW worth of new solar PV projects were connected to the grid in Chile during the month of January — boosting the country’s total grid-connected capacity substantially, bringing it up to 102.6 MW. Considering that at the end of December the country only possessed 6.7 MW of grid-connected solar, that’s some impressive growth! 🙂

The big boost was primarily the result of the partial connection of SunEdison’s 100 MW Amanecer Solar project in the Atacama region, and, to a much lesser degree, the connection of the 3 MW Los Puquios plant in the region of Tarapaca.

Image Credit: Chile via Flickr CC

PV Magazine provides more:

According to Chile’s Center for Renewable Energy (CER), solar energy capacity climbed to 102.6 MW in January, an increase of 95.9 MW from December. Solar energy made up 1.2 percent of Chile’s overall energy mix in January, according to CER.

A total of 186.3 MW of renewable energy installations began operation in the country in January, bringing total capacity from renewables to 1,298.3 MW.

Chile possesses great potential for further renewable energy development — solar energy, wind energy, and geothermal energy are all available in large concentrations/quantities. With such substantial resources, the South American country could likely wean itself of off fossil fuel imports relatively quickly, if the political will was there. As it stands currently, the country is aiming to get 10% of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2020, and 20% by the year 2025.

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