Eco-briefs
CHILE: Solar Field in the Desert

SANTIAGO, Feb 1 (Tierramérica).- More than 130,000 solar panels will make up the first photovoltaic plant in the middle of Chile's Atacama Desert. Construction is to begin in the coming months.

The initiative already has the approval of the regional environmental authority, headed by the governor of the northern region of Antofagasta, Cristián Rodríguez, who told Tierramérica that the site will feed the distribution network of the Calama Electrical Substation.

Rodríguez said the site has excellent characteristics for capturing solar energy, "not just because of the sun's radiation, but we also benefit from the dry climate and the clearest skies in the world."

The Calama Solar Photovoltaic Plant, Region II, will have a potential of nine megawatts, after an investment estimated of 40 million dollars for construction, operation and maintenance.