Mainstream Renewable Power inaugurates Rio Escondido solar farm
Published by Bella Weetch,
Editorial Assistant
Energy Global,
Mainstream Renewable Power, the global wind and solar company, has inaugurated its Rio Escondido solar farm, which has an installed capacity of 145 MW.
It is the first of 10 assets in Mainstream Renewable Energy’s Andes Renovables platform to be inaugurated. The platform, which consists of seven wind and three solar farms, will contribute 1.35 GW 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 ha. in the district of Tierra Amarilla in the Atacama Region. It is one of four assets comprising the 571 MW Condor portfolio, which commenced energisation in July 2021.
The company also recently announced plans for a second 1 GW 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 Renewable Power will have a total of 16 projects in the country and with an installed capacity of more than 2.3 GW, delivering clean energy to almost 3 million homes, and avoiding the emission of over 2.7 million t of CO2.
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. Many of those impacts are irreversible and the responsibility that humans have had in this whole process was clear. To mitigate this, we must reduce the emission of CO2 and other greenhouse gases rapidly – and the energy sector plays a central role in addressing this challenge.
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.”
Manuel Tagle, General Manager, Latin America, Mainstream Renewable Power, said: "In Chile, about 78% of greenhouse gases come from the energy sector and its consequences are evident.
Our industry has a great opportunity to help reverse its impacts by decarbonising our energy mix with clean and environmentally friendly energy. In this context, the Rio Escondido wind farm we are inaugurating today is a milestone in the fight against climate change."
For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.
Energy Global's Summer 2021 issue
The Summer issue of Energy Global features a varied spectrum of in-depth technical articles detailing recent projects, future projections, and technological advancements in the renewables sector, from companies including CEWEP, Enel Green Power, Turboden S.p.A., Cornwall Insight, and more.
Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/solar/13082021/mainstream-renewable-power-inaugurates-rio-escondido-solar-farm/
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