80,000
Chilean households equivalent
CLEAN, NON-POLLUTING ENERGY
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
1 in 8 people still do not have access to electricity. In order to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, it is necessary to increase the use of renewable energy from 25 % today to 38 % in 2025.
ACCIONA is positioning itself as a key player in addressing the growth in energy demand while curbing the progress of global warming and promoting the transition to a decarbonized energy model.
CLIMATE ACTION
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
The generation and use of energy is responsible for 74 % of total greenhouse gas emissions in the world. This activity is the largest contributor to global warming. Investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and other low carbon technologies will continue to be essential to meet the new needs of humanity and to minimise their negative impact on the environment.
ACCIONA considers the fight against climate change and its related effects to be a strategic priority. The Company is working to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in order to contribute to the progress of society and respond to the main challenges of sustainable development in the areas of infrastructure, water and energy, leading the transition to a low-carbon economy.
The project is located also in the Atacama desert. The project supplies the National Mining Company (ENAMI) through a long-term power purchase agreement.
Located in the municipalities of Chañaral and Diego de Almagro, 17 kilometers from the latter, the Almeyda solar plant has a peak capacity of 62 MWp (54.2 MW rated) and an emission-free annual electricity generation capacity estimated at 167.5 gigawatt-hours (GWh), equivalent to the electricity demand of around 80,000 Chilean households.
The photovoltaic plant is equipped with 187,620 modules (panels) mounted on horizontal tracking structures. It covers 150 hectares in an area with one of the highest levels of solar radiation in the world, the Atacama Desert. The plant entered service by the end of 2019.
GENERAL INFORMATION
- Location: Municipalities of Diego de Almagro and Chañaral, Region of Atacama (Chile).
- Peak capacity: 62MWp.
- Rated capacity: 54.2MW.
- Technology: Solar photovoltaic with horizontal solar trackers
- Start up: Late 2019.
- Owner: ACCIONA
KEY POINTS
- Second ACCIONA's photovoltaic plant in Chile
- Located in the Atacama Desert, one of the areas with the highest level of solar radiation in the world.
- Average annual generation of 167.5 GWh.
- Clean power equivalent to the consumption of 80,000 Chilean homes.
- It covers 150 hectareas of land
- 162,000 metric tonnes of CO2 avoided a year in coal-fired power stations.
- 187,620 polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic modules.
- The project will create up to 350 jobs during the construction phase.
- It will support the electricity supply contract signed with the National Mining Company (ENAMI).
Key figures
62
megawatts of peak power
80,000
Chilean households
+ 350
new jobs
162,000
tons of CO2 into the atmosphere avoided
187,620
polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic modules
167.5
Average annual production (GWh)
Technology and innovation
GREENCHAIN®
The GREENCHAIN® project was born with the purpose of providing our customers with real-time traceability of energy from our renewable generation plants and storage systems to their points of consumption. To this end, not only is this information integrated into an interface that our clients can use to visualize or download the data or display dynamically in their facilities as a marketing tool, but it is also recorded in blockchain to increase transparency. This software tool also integrates information on the social initiatives that ACCIONA carries out in the communities where its generation plants are located, with the aim of making our clients participants in the social commitment that characterizes ACCIONA.
The I'MNOVATION Startups program was the umbrella under which the first pilot for this solution was developed.