Sep 15 2020
Verano Capital, an American project developer headquartered in Chile, recently welcomed the Minister of Energy, Juan Carlos Jobet and the Mayor of the Metropolitan Region, Felipe Guevara, to the inauguration of its latest PMGD solar park, El Litre del Verano, adding 9 MW of clean energy to the national electricity system.
Dylan Rudney, CEO of Verano Capital, highlighted the achievements of the project. “Thanks to the energy and commitment of our team we were able to complete the project on time and on budget, speeding up the process from environmental qualification to connection to the grid. Construction of the park was completed in less than 6 months for an investment of approximately 10 million dollars”.
Chile has announced a massive $22.6 billion investment to develop renewable energy and has seized upon the falling cost of solar projects to shift its energy mix away from coal. Renewables now make up 44 percent of the energy mix. “These renewable energy projects not only allow us to clean up our energy matrix; but also, they give us access to cheaper energy and allow us to generate employment,” explained Mr Jobet. “It is incredible that 5 years ago we thought that we were going to achieve a 70 percent share of renewable energy by 2050 and we are seeing that it is very likely that we will reach that goal 20 years earlier.”
Verano Capital is one of the leading project developers in Latin America. El Litre del Verano is the company’s 23rd project in Chile to reach commercial operation, bringing its installed capacity above 100 MW. A further 25 PMGD projects are in development. “We are delighted to support the Chilean government with their ambitious development plans for renewable energy. Our experience across all aspects of project development, from design to financing, from construction through to asset management, means that we can offer the most competitive energy solutions for our customers”, Dylan Rudney concluded.
In addition to its significant pipeline in Chile, Verano has over 1 GW of projects under development in Argentina, Colombia, and most recently Perú. Verano aims to have over 500 MW of solar projects operating in Latin America within the next 3 years.