Mainstream Renewable Power inaugurates the first of its ten projects under construction in Chile

• The 145 MW Rio Escondido solar farm was inaugurated on 10 August 2021 by Francisco Lopez, Chile’s Undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy
• The solar farm forms part of the Andes Renovables platform, which will contribute 1.35 GW of clean energy to Chile from 2022

Mainstream Renewable Power, the global wind and solar company, has inaugurated its Rio Escondido solar farm, which has an installed capacity of 145 MW.

It is the first of ten assets in Mainstream’s Andes Renovables platform to be inaugurated. The platform, which consists of seven wind and three solar farms, will contribute 1.35 GW of renewable energy to the Chilean grid by 2022, generating enough electricity to supply the equivalent of 20% of the energy consumed by regulated customers in the country.

Rio Escondido has more than 436,000 solar panels, arranged over 430 hectares in the district of Tierra Amarilla in the Atacama Region. It is one of four assets comprising the 571MW Condor portfolio, which commenced energisation in July.

Mainstream also recently announced plans for a second 1GW renewable energy platform in Chile, called Nazca Renovables, which will include six additional projects to those already under construction as part of Andes Renovables.

Once both platforms are online, Mainstream will have a total of 16 projects in the country and with an installed capacity of more than 2.3 GW, delivering clean energy to almost three million homes, and avoiding the emission of over 2.7 million tons of CO2.

Under-Secretary López welcomed Rio Escondido’s timely launch after a UN report’s ‘Code Red for humanity’ warning

Francisco Lopez, Chile’s Undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy, said: “A few days ago, we learned of the IPCC report, which warned us of the acceleration of climate change and its effects on the atmosphere, the planet and oceans.

“Many of those impacts are irreversible and the responsibility that humans have had in this whole process was clear. To mitigate this, we must reduce the emission of CO2 and other greenhouse gases rapidly – and the energy sector plays a central role in addressing this challenge.

“Today’s inauguration of Rio Escondido, the first of 10 Mainstream projects under construction in Chile, contributes to the incorporation of more renewable and clean energies that are decisive to mitigate climate change and modify the way our country is developing and is characterized by sustainable development.”

Mainstream’s Manual Tagle said solar and wind can slash the energy sector’s 78% share of greenhouse gas emissions in Chile

Manuel Tagle, General Manager, Latin America, Mainstream Renewable Power, said: “In Chile, about 78% of greenhouse gases come from the energy sector and its consequences are evident.

“Our industry has a great opportunity to help reverse its impacts by decarbonising our energy mix with clean and environmentally friendly energy.

“In this context, the Rio Escondido solar farm we are inaugurating today is a milestone in the fight against climate change.”