SunEdison, Inc. (NYSE:SUNE) has announced the National Energy Commission in Chile has awarded the company a contract to supply 570 gigawatt hours of solar electricity annually – and SunEdison will do so at a cheaper cost than fossil fuels.
SunEdison states it will be investing more than USD $700 million to build 350 megawatts of utility scale solar power plants throughout the nation. The company says its solar PV power stations can supply electricity in Chile at 10%-25% lower cost than fossil fuels – and without subsidies or incentives of any kind.
Electricity generated through this round of utility scale projects will be purchased by local companies under 15 year power purchase agreements.
“This project demonstrates SunEdison’s ability to provide innovative energy solutions and compete on equal footing in the Chilean regulated market,” stated Jose Perez, president of SunEdison for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
” This bid represents a portfolio of strategic projects for SunEdison that will help diversify the energy mix of the Chilean grid and will help resolve the country’s energy supply deficit using clean, sustainable renewable energy at competitive electricity prices.”
SunEdison’s presence in Chile has grown rapidly – its facilities in the nation include the 100MW Amanecer Solar CAP plant, the 50.7 MW San Andrés solar farm and the 72.8 MW Maria Elena power station.
In other recent SunEdison news, the company has announced the closing of an approximately $146 million USD in non-recourse debt financing that will be used to fund construction of three solar projects totaling 81.7 megawatts in the Republic of Honduras
“Solar energy will play a key role in meeting Honduras’ growing energy demand and will reduce the country’s dependency on imported fuel,” said Mr. Perez. “This latest project demonstrates that SunEdison continues to lead as the largest renewable energy developer in Latin America .”
The company’s USA operations have also experienced another major win recently. Early this month, SunEdison announced the signing of power purchase agreements (PPA’s) with 16 separate public housing authorities across Massachusetts, totaling 39.5 megawatts in peak capacity.
The project will save the housing authorities involved an estimated USD $60 million in avoided electricity costs over the next 20 years.
“SunEdison’s work with public housing authorities in Massachusetts clearly demonstrates that the economic benefits of solar are for everyone,” said Steve Raeder, managing director of sales, SunEdison North America.
