The PV plant, which will feature 392,000 solar panels, is expected to start operations by the end of 2015.
The facility’s solar panels will capture the energy from the sun and deliver it directly to the grid.
Located in the Atacama Desert, the 1,000ha solar complex will also feature a concentrated solar power (CSP) facility of 110MW with 17.5 hours of thermal storage.
The solar thermal plant will feature 10,600 heliostats with the field covering about 700ha.
The CSP plant, which has been in construction since 2014, is expected to operate from the second quarter of 2017.
The plant will also feature a thermal storage system with molten salts that will allow to deliver stable energy throughout a day.
About 870,000 tons of CO2 emission will be reduced per year and the platform will combine both technologies in order to meet the electricity demand from households and industry.
Abengoa, which has been present in Chile since 1987, said the new plant will further consolidate its technological commitment to solar thermal electric power and innovation.
The company presently has 1,503MW of installed capacity in commercial operation, 360MW under construction and 210MW in development.
Image: The Atacama 1 solar complex will feature a 100MW PV plant and a solar thermal facility. Photo: Courtesy of Abengoa.
