Renewable

November 17 (Renewables Now) - Banco Santander Chile, a subsidiary of Spanish lender Banco Santander SA (BME:SAN), is supporting the construction of six solar farms totalling 1.8 MW in an effort to compensate for the power it takes from the grid.

The initiative was announced on Tuesday by the bank’s president Claudio Melandri and CEO Miguel Mata at a virtual event with investors, during which the Chilean subsidiary presented its targets in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) area for the coming years.

As part of the bank’s ten-point ESG plan, Santander Chile will seek to raise its share of renewable energy use from the current 28% to eventually 100%. Its Spanish parent dictates that all Banco Santander units around the world should achieve a 100% share of renewable energy by 2025.

To realise the solar projects, Santander Chile entered into an agreement with solar PV solutions firm Gasco Luz and boutique merchant bank Four Trees Capital. As a result, six solar farms of 300 kW each will be installed in Coquimbo, Valparaiso and the Santiago Metropolitan Region, the bank said.

Under the contract, the bank will lease the solar farms for ten years and pay USD 240,000 (EUR 212,180) per year.

The plants are already under construction. Once they start full operations in 2022, Santander Chile as their sole beneficiary will be able to make up for the power it draws from the grid, the lender explained.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.884)