Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has inaugurated the opening of El Arrayán, one of the biggest wind farms in South America.
The farm is located in the Coquimbo region, 400km north of Santiago.
The facility is a part of its efforts to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and boost renewable energy.
The 115MW El Arrayán plant features 50 2.3MW Siemens turbines, which is 70 percent owned by Pattern and the remaining by Chilean mining firm Antofagasta Minerals.
This farm is a great example of collaboration between the mining industry and a clean-energy company. This project is expected to act as a powerful stimulus for other companies in the mining sector to start opting for this kind of energy, stated, president of Chile in her inaugural speech.
Out of the $300m generated power, approximately 70 percent will be transferred to copper mine in the Chilean Andes while the remaining will be sold on the open market.
Additionally, the El Arrayan will provide Los Pelambres with 20 percent of its energy needs.
Chile needs more generating capacity to bring down fuel prices. The country needs more clean energy and needs more investment. There are much investment opportunities in this sector, noted, Maximo Pacheco, Energy Minister.
The area already has 8 wind farms and four solar power projects. There are also 14 additional projects currently in the process of being approved by the Environmental Evaluation System in Chile.
The Chilean government aims to provide 45 percent of new capacity on the national grid from wind and solar by 2025.