Snapshot: Colbún’s Chilean power generation projects

Chilean generator Colbún’s 812MW wind power project Horizonte is roughly halfway complete, as permitting for 360MW wind park Los Junquillos advances, the company’s 1Q23 results call was told.

Horizonte – Colbún’s first incursion into the wind segment – is being built in Antofagasta region and linked to a power purchase agreement with miner BHP.

Officials, meanwhile, last quarter launched a public consultation for Biobío region project Los Junquillos, which was resubmitted for environmental approval in December. Work is penciled in to start in January 2024.

The company also has Celda Solar (420MW solar, 240MW storage), planned for far north Arica y Parinacota region, in the environmental permitting phase. Colbún officials are awaiting the issuance of a document that consolidates queries, clarifications or rectifications sought by entities involved in the evaluation process.

PROJECTS WITH A LICENSE 

Colbún has received environmental approval for the 750MW Inti Pacha – to be built over three phases – and 537MW Jardín Solar photovoltaic parks, planned for Antofagasta and Tarapacá regions, respectively. Officials have previously said power purchase agreements would likely be needed to trigger investment. 

Last quarter, Chile’s grid coordinator CEN authorized a request to connect Inti Pacha to the Crucero substation, citing a deadline of April 2024 for a construction launch declaration.

GOALS

Colbún, which has a roughly 16% share of the overall power generation market in Chile, has a headline goal of installing some 4GW of renewables capacity before the next decade.

In terms of other projects, Colbún said in a statement that it continued to “advance with a portfolio of wind and solar project options, which are in early stages of development. These represent highly competitive projects, where areas with the best energy resources are chosen, with low socio-environmental conflict, with lower investment costs and land distributed throughout the country.”

Colbún deployed US$257mn of capex in 2022. The 2023 capex pot is estimated at US$650mn, with Horizonte accounting for the lion’s share.

Colbún’s overall installed capacity stands at 4.01GW, with thermoelectric plants accounting for 53%, hydroelectric power stations 41% and solar PV farms 6%. Of the total, 3.44GW is in Chile, with the balance – corresponding to a 573MW combined-cycle plant – in Peru.

REGULATIONS, NEW BUSINESS LINES

During a shareholder meeting in April, Colbún chairman Hernán Rodríguez, on the topic of regulations, called for a focus on energy storage, accelerated transmission infrastructure deployment, power line and thermoelectric asset flexibility and conditions under which regulated supply contracts are auctioned. 

Regulatory changes are deemed necessary to support continued incorporation of renewables while fostering a reliable and competitive system. Some generators, chiefly smaller solar and wind players, are being heavily impacted by price decoupling, largely stemming from transmission congestion.  

Shareholders also agreed to amend company statutes, to expand the business scope and include the production, transport, storage and sale of hydrogen, ammonia and methanol, as well as to activities related to the production of desalinated water, the sale of water resources and the provision of associated services.

“This modification was made with the objective of updating the statutes based on the strategy that the company is deploying, which sees green hydrogen and the desalination, conduction and treatment of industrial water as areas of potential growth for Colbún, added to the development of renewable energy and storage, energy solutions and nonregulated clients,” the statement said.