Chile’s round-the-clock solar power project is back on, reports BN Americas. The Atacama 1 plant will use 100 MW PV and 110 MW of Concentrating Solar Power – which has the capacity to store heat and provide energy even when the sun doesn’t shine. The project will be connected the Chile’s northern SING power grid, where mining companies account for 90% of demand.
After reaching a debt restructuring agreement with lenders in order to avoid bankruptcy in August, troubled Spanish energy and construction firm Abengoa in October struck a deal to transfer ownership of Atacama 1 – which will require US$1.8bn of investment according to BNamericas’ records – to EIG Global Energy Partners.
The PV plant is expected to enter operation in the second quarter of 2017, Abengoa said in a statement, without providing a startup date for the CSP plant.
