Generadora Metropolitana begins commercial operation at 480MW Chile PV plant

May 20, 2024
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
ja solar ceme1 project
The CEME1 project in Chile is the country’s largest solar project by capacity. Image: JA Solar

The 480MW CEME1 PV project in Chile has started commercial operation, and is the country’s largest solar project by capacity.

Developer Generadora Metropolitana, which is owned by French utility EDF and Chilean independent power producer (IPP) AME, started the commissioning work in March, after construction work began in 2022.

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

Solar panels for the project were provided by Chinese module supplier JA Solar, which worked with the PowerChina Huadong Engineering Corporation, a Chinese construction firm, to complete the installations.

“We are proud to contribute to the local energy transition, providing clean energy to hundreds of thousands of households and significantly reducing carbon emissions,” said Aiqing Yang, executive president of JA Solar. “We look forward to continuing our support for local sustainable development, addressing environmental challenges and fostering a greener and more resilient future for communities in Chile and beyond.”

While JA Solar did not specify which of its modules are in use at the project, the company has already supplied modules to a number of other projects around the world this year, including Uzbekistan and Pakistan. JA Solar supplied n-type modules to all of these projects, and last year, regional sales director Alastair Mounsey, told PV Tech that the company had “put [its] stall out for tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) as the major technology for the next 18, 24 months or so.”

TOPCon modules have become increasingly commonplace in the solar sector due to their higher conversion efficiency figures than earlier passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) modules, which is of note for a high-potential solar sector, such as Chile’s.

According to Acesol, the Chilean PV association, Chile’s cumulative installed capacity reached 8.5GW by the end of 2023, but considering that the high solar irradiance levels means projects in Chile could produce up to 35% more electricity than projects in other countries, continuing to expand both the scope and efficiency of the Chilean solar sector could make a significant impact on the global solar industry.

Read Next

Premium
October 17, 2025
According to Ronak Maheshwari of CRC-IB, there has been a struggle for US renewable power projects to secure necessary equity .
October 16, 2025
T1 Energy and Nextracker have agreed to use the latter’s steel module frames at the former’s new 5GW module manufacturing facility in Dallas.
October 15, 2025
The average price of a solar PPA signed in North America increased 4% between the second and third quarters of 2025, according to LevelTen.
October 14, 2025
The curtailment of solar PV and wind capacity in Chile has reached 3.2TWh as of August 2025, a slight increase from the same period in 2024.
Premium
October 14, 2025
Perovskite, tariffs, Section 232 and FEOC were among the key topics discussed at PV CellTech USA this year in San Francisco.
October 14, 2025
German IPP wpd has started construction at its 140.6MW Marcy solar park in the Nièvre department of central France.

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