Mainstream inaugurates 145MW Chile Solar

Mainstream has inaugurated its 145MW Rio Escondido solar farm in Chile.

It is the first of 10 assets in Mainstream’s Andes Renovables platform to be inaugurated.

The platform, which consists of seven wind and three solar farms, will contribute 1.35GW of renewable energy to the Chilean grid by 2022, generating enough electricity to supply the equivalent of 20% of the energy consumed by regulated customers in the country.
Rio Escondido has more than 436,000 solar panels, arranged over 430 hectares in the district of Tierra Amarilla in the Atacama Region.

It is one of four assets comprising the 571MW Condor portfolio, which commenced energisation in July.

Mainstream also recently announced plans for a second 1GW renewable energy platform in Chile, called Nazca Renovables, which will include six additional projects to those already under construction as part of Andes Renovables.

Once both platforms are online, Mainstream will have a total of 16 projects in the country and with an installed capacity of more than 2.3GW.

Francisco Lopez, Chile’s undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy, said: “A few days ago, we learned of the IPCC report, which warned us of the acceleration of climate change and its effects on the atmosphere, the planet and oceans.

"Today's inauguration of Rio Escondido, the first of 10 Mainstream projects under construction in Chile, contributes to the incorporation of more renewable and clean energies that are decisive to mitigate climate change and modify the way our country is developing and is characterized by sustainable development.”