Chilean utility Colbún has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with French energy giant Total and SunPower for the energy produced from a 164MW solar PV plant in Chile.
The PPA will account for 500GWh per year of energy from the PV plant once it has been constructed.
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The PPA award comes after a competitive tender process in which more than 13 companies were involved, with a total of 20 PPA alternatives under consideration.
No other timelines or dates were given in the SunPower release.
Colbún owns 24 power plants across Chile and Peru, through which it supplies 3,852 MW of the installed capacity. It also has a 21% market share in Chile's Central Interconnected System (SIC) grid. Fossil fuels giant Total is owner of a 60% stake in SunPower.
Thomas Keller, chief executive of Colbún, said: “This contract is a further step towards strategy optimizing our generation mix and strengthening our market position.”
Bernard Clément, senior vice president of business and operations, of the New Energies division of Total, said: “As a world leader in the solar industry, we are proud to launch a new solar project with Colbún, delivering 500GWh per year of reliable, cost-effective clean power. We are pleased to assist Chile in the diversification of its energy mix and we look forward to further developing our solar activities in the country. This project supports our ambition to become the responsible energy major.”
In april, Colbun announced it would purchase two of SunEdison’s solar PV projects in development in Chile along with their long-term power supply contracts.
This article has been updated to note that there were no more timelines or dates given in the press release.