The French utility Engie SA – with Solairedirect SA – plans to invest about $450 million to develop 400 megawatts of solar power in Chile’s north and central regions, where transmission lines are available, said Laurent Furedi, chief of strategy at Engie Latin America.
Engie acquired Solairedirect SA for about $220 million in 2015 as part of plans to double renewable-power capacity in Europe over the next decade and expand in high-growth countries such as India and Chile. Engie is shifting to renewable energy from developing natural gas and nuclear power plants around the globe.
“The energy market’s growth in Latin America has been important,” Furedi said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “It is growing more than in Europe” and there’s a focus on carbon-free power sources.
Engie will pursue deals to sell power to mining companies and plans to participate in Chile’s energy auctions for new solar farms, Furedi said. The company will also seek to acquire smaller developers, especially in northern Chile.
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