Chilean developer builds solar plant on tailings dam

Guacolda Energía has completed a 3 MW solar project in Tierra Amarilla, Chile. It is the the world’s first solar project to be built on a tailings dam.

Image: Sonami / Pucrobre

Share

From pv magazine LatAm

Chilean energy company Guacolda Energía has finished building a 3 MW solar plant on a tailings dam in Tierra Amarilla, in the sunny Atacama region in northern Chile.

The $3 million project is located on a 4.5-hectare plot of land. The energy it generates will be used for the mining operations of Chilean company Pucobre. René Opazo, operations manager for Guacolda Energía, described the installation as “a milestone for more sustainable mining.”

Popular content

Tailings dams are earth-fill embankment dams that store the byproducts of mining operations, such as ground rocks, water, and gangue minerals.

This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.