Enel Begins Construction on Chile’s Largest Solar Farm

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Enel Green Power Chile, a subsidiary of Enel, has begun construction of a new photovoltaic plant in Chile. With approximately 382 megawatts of installed capacity, the facility is the largest solar project currently under construction in the country.

Campos del Sol is located about 37 miles northeast of Copiapó in the Atacama region and is estimated to cost some $320 million. The facility will total about 1 million bifacial photovoltaic panels, a technology that generates on average 12 percent more electricity than conventional modules as it captures solar radiation from both sides of the panel. Moreover, the solar development will include digital features—it will be controlled by a GPS, while an autonomous drone will remotely monitor worksite activities.

The project is expected to begin commercial operations by the end of 2020 and is estimated to generate about 1,160 megawatt-hours per year while avoiding the emission of more than 900,000 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Enel Green Power has also started a permanent dialogue with five local indigenous Colla communities to identify impact mitigation and how the Campos del Sol farm can generate value for them. This has materialized into a plan with short-, medium- and long-term projects focusing on sustainable tourism initiatives developed in collaboration with Chilean nonprofit Fundación Rondó.