The South Korean government is planning to build two solar photovoltaic power plants in Chile, as reported by the Korea Economic Daily on November 29. South Korean companies including Dohwa Engineering, Hanwha Q CELLS [HQCL:US], and OCI Power will jointly work on the project which could cost USD129.9m. The solar power plant complex will be located on a 1.2m square meter farm in Teno of Curicó Province, Maule Region. The two plants will have a capacity of three megawatts (MW) each in the first phase. Afterward, South Korea will build a 140MW plant in Chile in the second phase.

The South Korean government expects the complex will earn USD30.1m in phase one and USD594.4m in phase two. Notably, the project is also a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project that could generate profits from trading carbon credits for emission reduction, as CDM issues certified emission reductions (CERs). Chile has always depended on non-solar energy sources to generate electricity. The country generated 76,647 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in 2017, with coal power facilities accounting for 39%, hydroelectric plants for 30%, natural gas for 17%, and solar and wind generators for 5%. For the long run, Chile set a goal of converting 4,023MW of electricity to renewable power through CDM projects.

Sources:

https://www.kedglobal.com/newsView/ked202111290013