Chile opens 82MW Punta Sierra wind farm

Australia's Pacific Hydro outlined plans for a Latin America-wide renewables expansion after bringing online its first Chilean wind farm on Friday.

The 82MW Punta Sierra project (pictured) in Ovalle, around 400km north of capital Santiago, will generate 282GWh a year from 32 turbines, energy minister Susana Jiménez said during a ceremony.

"It will provide [enough] energy for 157,000 homes ... diversifying the matrix and making it much cleaner and more sustainable," Jiménez said.

Built at a cost of US$140mn, Punta Sierra is a joint venture between Pacific Hydro and its Chinese parent firm State Power Investment Corporation.

Pacific Hydro general manager, Renzo Valentino, said: "We are happy to open our first wind farm, a milestone that not only marks the diversification of our business portfolio, but [which] is the first step to continue developing projects together with SPIC."

"We want to take advantage of all their experience ... to grow in Chile and Latin America," he added.

Chilean economy minister José Ramón Valente said the project showed the vast potential for future partnerships between companies from Chile and China.

Ovalle, in Coquimbo region, now boasts installed power capacity of 500MW with an additional 1,200MW under development, according to the energy ministry.