Chile. The Coya solar park put into operation by Engie Energía Chile, has a capacity of 181.3 megawatts (MW), which makes it the largest of the company to date.
This facility, located in the town of María Elena (in the Antofagasta Region, in the north of the country), consists of 369,000 solar panels, whose objective is to provide green energy to 73,000 homes, generating savings of 311,293 tons of carbon dioxide per year; this figure, according to Global Energy, is equivalent to 0.4% of the annual CO2 emissions of Chile's energy sector.
In addition, the cleaning of these panels will be in charge of the robot developed by the Israeli company Ecoppia, capable of removing dust and dirt from the surface of photovoltaic cells without using water.
Another particularity of this project is that the plant's infrastructure will include an energy storage system with a capacity of 638 megawatt-hours (MWh).
Rosaline Corinthien, CEO of Engie Chile commented: "Obtaining the COD for our Coya Solar Plant closes the first stage of our transformation plan, with solar and wind plants already adding around 800 MW of renewable energy to the system. Now begins a second stage that consists of adding new technologies to the development of projects, as is the case of storage systems. In this way, we continue to advance our commitment to accelerate the transition to a carbon-neutral economy."
In addition, Mathieu Ablard, Managing Director GBU Renewables of ENGIE Chile, said: "We are proud to add a new achievement to our transformation plan. The Coya Solar Plant was a great challenge as it is the largest renewable energy park we have in the country, it demonstrates the dedication of each of the collaborators who made it possible for it to be dispatching green energy to the system today."
Previously, Engie put into operation three other facilities in northern Chile. The 114 MW Tamaya Solar Power Plant (SPP) in the Tarapacá Region; the 151.2 MW Calama wind farm and the 88 MW Capricornio solar park in the Antofagasta Region.
Relevant data for Chile
Finally, it is worth remembering that solar power plants are the fourth largest source of electricity in Chile. According to the expert group Ember, SPPs accounted for 17% of Chile's electricity generation in 2022; gas and coal power plants were responsible for 19% and 23% respectively; while hydroelectric power plants and wind generators accounted for 24% and 11%, values to which are added all other energy sources that constitute 6%.
