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Solar project developer juwi has strengthened its position in the global PV market by opening new offices in South Africa and Chile. Both countries are particularly strong growth areas for renewable energy and juwi hopes to eventually establish itself as a fully-integrated developer in these regions with the help of its Stellenbosch and Santiago offices.
The Santiago office is being run by juwi’s subsidiary, juwi Energías Renovables de Chile Limitada, and it has already helped build two solar projects in the Atacama Desert. The systems, situated in the towns of Antofagasta and San Pedro de Atacama, were installed in 2010 and have a combined output of 6kW. “The modules are exposed to sandstorms, magnetic dust and a highly corrosive atmosphere... each plant produces enough energy to cover the annual needs of 12 households“, said Diego Lobo-Guerrero Rodríguez, juwi’s project manager in the region.
Initially, juwi will concentrate on wind energy in South Africa, although it harbours plans to move into the solar sector. “The government follows a comprehensive energy strategy that combines different renewable energy sources. That matches what juwi offers as we are active in all areas of renewable energy. In the longer term, we plan to construct solar projects in South Africa as well“, said Michael Böhm, managing director of juwi Renewable Energies.
