Sonnedix starts production from 170-MW solar farm in Chile

Independent solar power producer Sonnedix Power Holdings Ltd said that its 170-MW solar farm in Chile’s Atacama Desert started injecting electricity into the grid.

Named Sonnedix Atacama, the plant is the company's largest solar photovoltaic (PV) project to date. It consists of around half a million of ultra-high efficiency Jinko Solar mono panels, 48 Power Electronics central inverters and NX Horizon smart solar trackers supplied by Nextracker Inc -- all installed on a 450-hectare (1,112 acres) site in the desert commune of Pica.

METKA EGN was responsible for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) side of the project, while Chile’s Transelec SA built the transmission facilities which it will manage throughout the life of the Sonnedix Atacama plant.

The solar farm will operate under a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Chilean copper miner Compania Minera Dona Ines de Collahuasi SCM, Sonnedix said.

Sonnedix has 11 solar farms in operation in Chile. With plants currently under construction, the company controls a total capacity of close to 400 MW and has a further 750 MW of projects in different stages of development, it added.

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