Despite unrest in the country causing to withdraw from hosting the 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25), its ambitious plans for a renewable energy future continue. This dramatic image of a solar facility, contrasting starkly with the ancient sand of the Atacama desert, shows how those intentions are becoming reality.
Following the global climate change deal signed in Paris, this project is a source of hope because it demonstrates how far renewable technology has come. They have already pledged to phase out coal-fired power by 2040 and be carbon neutral by 2050. But in a bid to hold other countries to further-reaching pledges, it is now looking for ways to bring forward its own deadlines.
These panels are in the Solar Jama plant, along the coast from Chile’s capital, Santiago. It is located thousands of metres above sea level, and the arid desert air contains very little water vapour, allowing more sunlight to reach the solar cells. It is built to harvest the energy of the sun via a growing field of giant mirrors that radiate out for more than a kilometre across the ground below with a geometric precision that is reminiscent of contemporary art or the stone circles of the druids.
A surge in lower cost solar panels from China in recent years has helped to place it within a whisker of its target to get 20% of its power from renewables by 2025. The market had been flooded with cheap solar panels from China that had helped accelerate Chile’s targets, but meant that Cerro Dominador’s output was only useful for the half of the day not covered by the panels.
The project was hailed by government and industry as a key component of Chile’s vow to wean itself off imported fossil fuels and large hydroelectric centers, which are struggling to stay online amid a persistent and deepening drought.
Although there are other, bigger concentrated solar power plants in the US, this is the first in South America and is believed to be the largest anywhere in the world to use a single tower and locally mined salt for thermal storage and to drive its turbines.
The sun is so powerful in this 1,100m-altitude desert that it can be dangerous. Along with a harness, helmet and boots, the essential safety items for visitors are dark glasses and industrial-strength sunblock lotion. Despite the heat, security guards on the perimeter have have thick uniforms that cover every inch of their skin.
This will be an iconic project that reduces 840,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year. But, the project has to compete with conventional generation, so the challenge is to reduce costs and make it more competitive. The financing for these facilities is a challenge
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