With 32 turbines by the blue sea, the Punta Sierra wind farm has been in operation since Feb 4, 2018.It is the first Pacific Hydro wind farm in Chile and the first wind farm invested in by China in the South American country.
The $150 million project, financed and constructed by China State Power Investment Corporation, has an installed capacity of 82 MW and will generate about 282 GWh/year, which can meet electricity demands for 130,000 households and reduce carbon emissions by 157,000 tons per year.
The $150 million project, financed and constructed by China State Power Investment Corporation, has an installed capacity of 82 MW and will generate about 282 GWh/year, which can meet electricity demands for 130,000 households and reduce carbon emissions by 157,000 tons per year.
Since Chile in 2015 adopted the National Energy Policy 2050, the electricity sector has developed quickly, turning the South American country into "a world-class destination for solar and wind energy developers," according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency.
SPIC has so far invested nearly 2 billion U.S. dollars in Chile since 2016, becoming the largest private Chinese investor there.The wind farm is situated in Ovalle, a town some 320 km north of the capital Santiago, and is one of 34 clean-energy projects in different stages of development in Coquimbo which accounts for 70 percent of Chile's installed wind-energy capacity.