The Inter-American Development Bank approved a loan package for $41.4 million to private sector firms for the construction, operation, and maintenance of three photovoltaic solar power plants in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile.

The plants in the Pozo Almonte and Calama Photovoltaic Project, which will have a peak generating capacity of 26.5 megawatts, will supply power to the Collahuasi and Codelco mining companies.

The financing consists of a loan for $20.7 million from the IDB's ordinary capital and a loan for $20.7 million from the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in the Americas, which is administered by the Bank.

The operation supports Chile's National Energy Strategy, which aims to more than double the contribution of unconventional renewable energy to the country's energy matrix in the next 10 years.

It is estimated that energy consumption in Chile will grow annually between 6 percent and 7 percent until 2020. The new IDB operation will help to bridge the gap between energy supply and demand by utilizing a local energy source that is clean, competitive, and abundant in the country, and can be developed quickly to boost growth of the Chilean economy.

Source: Inter American Development Bank