ACCIONA has begun construction work on the 64-MWp Usya photovoltaic plant, the third owned by the company in Chile. ACCIONA is currently constructing almost 400 MW in Chile in two wind farms and two photovoltaic plants, which will enter service in late 2019/early 2020.

The Usya plant, located in the municipality of Calama (Antofagasta region), will have a maximum capacity of 64 peak megawatts (MWp) -51 MW rated capacity- and an estimated annual emission-free energy generation of 146 gigawatt-hours (GWh), equivalent to the electricity demand of around 70,000 Chilean households. 

The new photovoltaic plant will be equipped with 187,200 modules mounted on fixed structures, which will be installed on a surface area of 105 hectares. The plant is expected to enter service in mid-2020. 

“With the start of construction work on Usya, ACCIONA is implementing the 600-million-dollar investment plan we announced last year for the construction of four new clean energy facilities in Chile. We are also fulfilling our commitment to make the investments to support previously signed electric power supply contracts”, explains José Ignacio Escobar, Director of ACCIONA’s Energy Division for South America.  

Around 400 people will work in the project during the period of highest construction activity. After it enters service, the new plant will avoid the emission of around 141,000 equivalent tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere from coal-fired power stations.

Other plants in Chile

ACCIONA is currently building three other renewable energy facilities under its ownership in Chile, two wind farms in La Araucanía totalling 267 MW and a 62-MWp photovoltaic plant in Atacama, which will join the 291 MW already in service in the country. 

The company’s construction effort will lead to a total of almost 700 MW of renewable capacity under its ownership in Chile by 2020, with an investment of around 1,000 million dollars US (886 million euros at current exchange rates).