SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:$SPWR) announced today that it has acquired a switchyard that interconnects the 100 megawatts El Pelicano solar project with the Integrated Central System of Chile, alongside partner Transelec.
The switchyard – known as Don Héctor – lies just 6.5 km outside of El Pelicano. El Pelicano is the product of SunPower’s developments in Chile’s commune of La Higuera in the Coquimbo Region. The El Pelicano project will supply 300-gigawatt hours per year of energy to the underground railway network of Santiago, Metro de Santiago.
SunPower Corporation is a solar solution service provider that serves a number of different customers in the residential, business, government, utility, and school sectors worldwide. Their headquarters is located in Silicon Valley.
SunPower CFO Chuck Boyton said, “SunPower foresees enhancing Chile’s energy landscape with clean, reliable solar power”. He also mentioned he was excited that Transelec also shared his vision of affordable and clean solar energy.
Transelec General Manager Andrés Kuhlmann noted that the development would provide a renewable and clean power source that would help Chile’s growth and development.
“This purchase completes a process that we have been executing with SunPower, starting with engineering and operation of the Don Héctor Switchyard and culminating in this acquisition with an investment of US$ 17.9 million,” said Kuhlman, detailing the process forward for the project.
The plant boasts a number of technological advances in solar power such as robotic solar panel cleaning that uses 75% less water and can help improve the system’s performance by 15%
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