Luz del Norte

completed

The project under consideration will install a photovoltaic (PV) solar plant to generate 141.04 MW AC of solar energy to be supplied to the Chilean Central Interconnected System (SIC). The project is located in the Atacama Desert, considered one of the driest and sunniest places in the world, in the Llano de Varas, Province of Copiapó, approximately 60 kilometers to the Northeast of the city of Copiapó. It is placed on a fenced 456 ha property of the Chilean government leased to First Solar for the project. The closest settlement, the town of Carrera Pinto, is located 7.8 km away from the project. The closest indigenous community, out of the six indigenous communities in the district of Copiapó, is located 19 km distant from the project. There was presence of cultural heritage within the project site including some areas of secondary archeological interest were near the transmission line route. The landscape in the region is typical of deserts and arid areas, with no nearby inhabitants or proximity to either critical or preserved habitats. The solar panels to be installed will convert sunlight to DC (Direct Current) electricity. The DC power will be sent to an inverter to convert the DC power into AC (Alternate Current) power which will then be fed into the utility power grid system. As part of the project, the Company will also (a) open a 0.5 km access road, (b) add an interconnection panel to the existing 220 kV Carrera Pinto substation, and (c) install a 2 km (220 kV) transmission line, with a right-of-way (ROW) of 40 m.