SunEdison inaugurates 100MW Chile solar plant

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Global utility-scale solar developer SunEdison’s 100MW Amanacer solar power plant in Chile has been inaugurated.

Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet attended a ceremony last week to mark the completion of the Amanecer project, which is said to be the largest PV power plant in Latin America.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Built in just six months, the plant has more than 310,000 photovoltaic modules spread over 280 hectares in Copiapo, in the Atacama Desert.

Amanecer is connected to Chile’s Central Interconnected System (SIC) and was built as part of an agreement with Chile’s largest steel mining company, CAP Group.

It is expected to produce 270GWh a year, generating 10% of the government’s 2014 renewable energy goal and the equivalent of 15% of the CAP Group's energy demand.

Investment of US$250 million was made for the project to be viable

Ahmad Chatila, president and CEO of SunEdison said the project was an important step in the international development of solar power. “This project has changed the course of renewable energy development not only in Chile and Latin America, but throughout the world. Amanecer Solar CAP has become a benchmark for SunEdison in how to develop photovoltaic solar energy on an international level.”

This plant is an “ideal way of diversifying the energy matrix in Chile, reducing costs and contributing towards meeting the demand for clean and sustainable energy”, added Jose Perez, president of SunEdison for Europe, Africa and Latin America. “This is just the starting point,” Perez said.

SunEdison is also constructing a 92MW solar plant in Chile and another SunEdsion 50MW solar plant to be built in Chile reached financial close in April.

Operational PV capacity in Chile hit 173MW in April, according to the country’s  Environmental Assessment Service (Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental SEIA).

Chile has previously had issues with its PV project pipeline, projects in its 5GW-plus pipeline have been slow to get built due to land, grid and financing issues, but recently construction and completed solar project rates have increased significantly, signalling a start to Chile realising its solar pipeline potential.

Read Next

October 8, 2025
Saatvik Green Energy has secured new solar PV module orders worth more than INR7 billion (US$84 million), to be delivered in this financial year.
October 8, 2025
Australia's NEM achieved a new minimum operational demand record of 9,666MW, marking a 4% decrease from the previous record.
October 8, 2025
Frontier Energy plans to expand its Waroona Renewable Energy Project into a renewable energy precinct by 2031, targeting up to 1GW solar.
October 7, 2025
Econergy will acquire 100% stake in the 155MW Ratesti solar project in Romania, further expanding its European renewable energy portfolio.
October 7, 2025
Juniper Green Energy through its subsidiary Juniper Green Sigma Eight has signed a 70MW power purchase agreement with renewable energy giant Tata Power. 
October 7, 2025
Solar PV will account for almost 80% of the 4.6TW of new renewable power expected to be added by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK