IIC invests US$135 million in Chilean wind farms

18th October 2017 Manuel Manrique

The Pacific coastal regions of Atacama and Los Lagos will begin generating renewable wind energy after construction plans for two wind farms received financing of US$135 million from the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), the private arm of the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB).

Aela Energía, a renewable energy firm based in Chile, will operate both sites with the aim of boosting the development of Chile through a more diverse mix of energy in the country’s economy. Non-conventional renewable energies currently represent around 18 percent of the country’s energy, 47 percent of which is represented by solar energy.

“Many markets in the world have seen that unconventional renewable energies are very competitive and banks are very interested in participating in the financing of such initiatives. Last year, 55 percent of all financing funds were for renewable energy, ” said Aela Energía’s commercial manager, Daniel Garrido.

In December 2015, Chile’s president Michelle Bachelet introduced a new energy policy named Energy 2050, the year of which sets a deadline to ensure all vulnerable families have continuous and quality access to energy services. The policy is having measurable effect: already, around 70 percent of national electricity generation comes from renewable energy sources.

The financed wind projects will have a combined installed capacity of 332 megawatts and are expected to decrease dependence on thermal and hydroelectric generation by supplying approximately 907 gigawatts of electricity per year. The projects are also expected to reduce the country’s carbon footprint by displacing an average of 590,798 tonnes carbon emissions annually.

In the commune of Freirina, approximately 70 kilometers southwest of the city of Vallenar in the Atacama region, the Sarco wind farm will contain 50 wind turbines, together reaching a capacity of 170 megawatts equivalent to the energy consumption of about 270 thousand households.

Aurora’s wind farm in Los Lagos region will meanwhile contain 43 wind turbines, which will have an installed capacity of 129 megawatts, enough to meet the demand of around 195 thousand homes.

 

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