Chile

A solar powered water desalination project in Chile has received an initial investment of $500 million. Trends Industrial and Almar Water Solutions will carry out the ENAPAC (Energías y Aguas del Pacífico) project, which will be the largest desalination plant by reverse osmosis (SWRO) in Latin America, and the first large-scale desalinator powered with PV.

Chilean company Cerro Dominador have announced the signing of a $758 million deal to finance the first combined concentrated solar power-PV project in Latin America – a 210 MW scheme in the Atacama desert

The Swiss-based power producer reported its Q1 2018 financial results. After the company ditched its Chilean project portfolio, some numbers look grim, but performance in the Japanese market appears more promising.

The project, Sol de Tarapacá, will be located in the municipality of Pozo Almonte, in Chile’s northern region of Tarapacá.

The National Mining Company of Chile (ENAMI) will be the first Chilean mining company that will have all of its electricity demand covered by clean energy sources. Supply of electricity under the long-term PPA will begin in April 2018.

The Chilean National Energy Commission will become the country’s first public entity to adopt such technology, which it will begin to use in March.

The portfolio consists of 12 solar plants to be developed under Chile’s PMGD Program for distributed generation.

Through this operation, the U.K. investor, which already owns a 40% interest in the Javiera solar plant located in the Antofagasta region, consolidates its position in the Chilean solar market.

Interested developers will have time until February 7, 2018, to submit their projects proposals. All of the tendered areas are in Chile’s northern region of Atacama.

The number of planned PV projects not exceeding 9 MW in size, which are eligible to access Chile’s PMGD Program for distributed generation, has increased considerably over the past months.