Gov’t Promotes Construction of 2 Solar Energy Farms in Chile

Friday, Apr 24, 2009

The government plans to promote the construction of two solar energy farms in northern Chile, the press reported Wednesday, citing Energy Minister Marcelo Tokman.

The National Energy Commission, or CNE, will hold international bidding for construction of the project in the second half of this year, Tokman said.

The projects will employ different types of technologies, with one being “a photovoltaic farm” with the capacity to generate 1 MW and the other “a concentrated solar plant” that could generate 10 MW, the energy minister said.

Contracts to build the projects are expected to be awarded at the end of this year or in early 2010, with the smaller facility entering operation next year and the larger farm going online in 2012, Tokman said.

“The goal is that, in the alternatives that we know we have great potential, we should take all the necessary steps, so when the time comes that they are competitive, we’ll be ready to take advantage of them,” the energy minister said.

Tokman said he planned to attend a solar energy seminar in San Francisco on Friday.

The United States and Spain, according to the energy minister, are the only countries currently operating solar thermal power stations.

The seminar, which will be attended by representatives of multinational corporations involved in the alternative energy business, is expected to bring together builders, operators and customers, Tokman said.

Source: Lath