First Solar Installs Inaugural Panel at South America's Largest PV Plant

First Solar Installs Inaugural Panel at South America’s Largest PV Plant

Chile | October 20, 2014 — With Michelle Bachelet, President of the Republic of Chile; Isabel Allende, President of the Chilean Senate, and Máximo Pacheco, Minister of Energy in attendance, First Solar ceremonially installed the first solar panel for the 141 Megawatt (MW)ac Luz del Norte Solar Power Plant. The project, located 58 kilometers north of the city of Copiapó, is expected to be complete by December 2015, and will become the largest solar plant in Latin America. “We are working hard to address Chile’s energy deficit. Projects, such as this show that Chile is progressing towards being a clean […]

By Derick Lila October 22, 20140

Chile | October 20, 2014 — With Michelle Bachelet, President of the Republic of Chile; Isabel Allende, President of the Chilean Senate, and Máximo Pacheco, Minister of Energy in attendance, First Solar ceremonially installed the first solar panel for the 141 Megawatt (MW)ac Luz del Norte Solar Power Plant.

The project, located 58 kilometers north of the city of Copiapó, is expected to be complete by December 2015, and will become the largest solar plant in Latin America.

“We are working hard to address Chile’s energy deficit. Projects, such as this show that Chile is progressing towards being a clean energy producing country. This year alone, we are incorporating more than 1000 MW of new energy to our system through different non-conventional renewable energies. This is an important step towards our 2025 target of having 20 percent of our energy coming from non-conventional renewable energies,” said Bachelet, speaking to a group gathered at the construction site.

“Chile is in a position to be a leader in renewable energy in the Southern Cone, and in the Atacama region we are doing so. We must continue to assume leadership, and we must work as a team to assure the effort goes forward to attract more business and leverage greater economic growth.”

“These kinds of projects are what our country needs,” said Maximo Pacheco, Minister of Energy. “Northern Chile is one of the places with the highest solar radiation in the world, and therefore is the place to develop alternative renewable energy projects such as First Solar’s here in the Atacama region. We are confident what with the implementation of this technology, we will achieve the goal set in our Energy Agenda that, by 2025, 20 percent of the country’s energy will come from such sources.”

“This project will stand as a showcase in the region,” said Joe Kishkill, First Solar’s Chief Commercial Officer. “We are proud to demonstrate our capability to deliver resources that help fulfill Chile’s national energy policy while bringing competitively priced clean electricity to the market.”