Chile inaugurated the first solar thermal power plant in Latin America

Chile inaugurated this Tuesday on first solar thermal power plant in Latin America, Cerro Dominador, in full Atacama Desert, the driest and with the highest solar radiation in the world, a project aimed at achieving carbon neutrality committed by 2050. The President of Chile, Sebastien Piñera, was part of the inauguration ceremony of the factory built in the city of Maria elena, in this South American country, one of the most radiant regions in the world, by a consortium formed by Abengoa Yes Acciona to the company GIE Global Energy Partners.

As reported Abengoa In a statement, the inauguration ceremony of the factory, located in the desert of Atacama, region of Antofagasta, It was held in a hybrid way (face-to-face and virtual) due to the restrictions derived from the pandemic, this Tuesday 8 and had the presence of Chilean energy and mines, Juan Carlos Jobet, as well as representatives of the client and the construction group.

This consortium won this contract in 2018. The project consisted of the construction of a thermal power station tower which is added to the photovoltaic plant of 100 megawatts (MW) built by Abengoa and already operational, forming the first renewable energy complex that combines the two technologies across the continent.

The solar thermal power plant Cerro Dominador has a capacity of thermal storage in molten salts for 17.5 hours, thanks to a pioneering thermal storage system designed and developed by Abengoa, and is capable of generating clean energy in a manageable manner for 24 hours.

The solar field, more than 700 hectares, has 10,600 mirror heliostats which direct solar radiation to a receiver 252 meters above sea level. It is estimated that the plant will save the atmosphere from the emission of more than 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year .

In all, the complex will avoid 630,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. The construction of the solar thermal power plant Cerro Dominador contributed, according to Abengoa, “significantly“To local development with the creation of more than 1,000 jobs in the territory at the highest point of the project, employing a large number of inhabitants of the municipalities of the region.

“It will allow us to save more than 600,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. This is the equivalent of what 300,000 cars emit in one year», Declared President Piñera during the inauguration of the project, the construction of which began in 2014. The President affirmed that this is a new step in Chile’s commitment to renew its energy matrix of ‘by 2050 and by then achieve the carbon neutrality assumed in the Paris Climate Agreement, which means being a country with net zero CO2 emissions.

To fulfill this commitment, added the president, Chile Focuses on Decarbonizing the Energy Matrix by Replacing Coal with Clean Energy, electrify public transport and improve energy efficiency, while protecting and increasing forests.

As builder and technological partner of the project, Abengoa brings its experience of more than 30 years in the construction of thermal solar power plants. The company has developed and built centers with an installed capacity of 2.2 gigawatts (GW), which represents 34% of the installed capacity worldwide. Among its latest projects, its participation in the construction of the world’s largest solar complex in Dubai, which is currently under construction, stands out.

(With information from Europa Press and AFP) .-

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