The US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and CorpBanca have approved loans of $48.9m, $50.3m, $16m and $74.8m, respectively.
Planned to be built in the Antofagasta region, the facility is expected to become the largest solar photovoltaic merchant plant in Latin America.
The electricity generated from the project will be supplied into the Chilean national electricity grid, Sistema Interconectado del Norte Grande, selling all its production in the spot market.
SunEdison will own and operate the plant as part of its strategy to maximize retained value.
The SunEdison Renewable Operation Center (ROC) will manage the solar systems, once operational.
The company will use the information collected from the ROC to enhance its products, project designs and service offerings.
SunEdison president of Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America Jose Perez said MarÃa Elena is the next step in the company’s ongoing commitment to Chile’s energy future and the growth of the solar industry.
"Today marks a new milestone in the energy industry – this power plant demonstrates that photovoltaic solar energy can compete with traditional energy sources and win. It is an international benchmark for the development of solar energy," Elena added.
Image: The Maria Elena solar project will be built in the Antofagasta region in Chile. Photo: Courtesy of graur codrin/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
