Representatives from both parties attend the commercial operation ceremony for the CEME1 PV project.
Local news media cover the commercial operation ceremony.
An aerial view of the CEME1 PV project.
The commercial operation ceremony for the CEME1 480-megawatt Photovoltaic (PV) Power Plant – the largest single photovoltaic project in Chile constructed by POWERCHINA – was held at the project site on July 8.
Luis Felipe, deputy secretary of the Ministry of Energy of Chile, attended the ceremony, along with officials from the Ministry of Health, the local energy bureau, the National Electricity Coordinator, the French Embassy in Chile, and POWERCHINA's Chile branch.
In his speech, Luis Felipe stated that the plant is currently the largest PV plant under construction in Chile, utilizing a herringbone layout to save land and employing cleaning robots to reduce water consumption by 80-90 percent compared to other nearby projects. The plant is of great significance to Chile's energy transition.
With confirmation from the Ministry of Energy, the project has officially entered commercial operation.
Located in the town of Maria Elena in northern Chile at the edge of the Atacama Desert – known as the world's driest place, the CEME1 project covers an area of approximately 480 hectares with an installed capacity of 480 MW.
Construction work includes the site area, a 220-kilovolt booster station, and a 9.2-kilometer transmission line connecting to the existing Miraje 220 kV substation.
Once fully operational, the project is expected to generate approximately 1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, providing clean energy to 500,000 households and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 280,000 metric tons per year.
