AES Andes, an electric utility company, has acquired a 146 MW solar project in Chile from EDF Renewables Chile and Marubeni Corporation. The Bolero solar project is located in the municipality of Sierra Gorda, in the Atacama Desert, in the region of Antofagasta.
The photovoltaic project has an installed capacity of 146 MW over 518 hectares. The photovoltaic park is divided into two sections: Bolero Este and Bolero Oeste, with an installed capacity of 60 MWp and 86 MWp, respectively. It has approximately 470,000 solar panels and is connected by a 3-kilometer transmission line to the Laberinto substation, which AES Andes owns. It began commercial operations in April 2018, and its generation is equivalent to the energy needs of 181,000 homes.
“With the acquisition of Bolero Solar, we are accelerating our transformation by incorporating an excellent asset already in operation and expanding our solar hub in the north of the country. This will allow us to increase our capacity in the region and create important synergies in operating our photovoltaic plants in the Atacama Desert,” said Javier Dib, CEO of AES Andes.
The CEO of EDF Renewables Chile, Matías Steinacker, said that “the sale of Bolero follows a strategic decision by EDF Renewables and is part of a reorganization process aimed at diversifying our assets in the country. In addition to our renewable power plants in operation, we have a diversified portfolio of renewable energy, storage and hydrogen projects under development, which clearly shows our commitment to continue contributing to the country’s energy transition.”
According to Mercom’s Q1 2023 Solar Funding and M&A Report, there were 67 large-scale solar project acquisitions in Q1 2023, compared to 61 transactions in Q4 2022.
In a recent transaction, Ib vogt, a renewable energy project developer, agreed to sell the 149 MW Garnacha solar project in Spain to ERG, a renewable energy independent power producer. The transaction for the 100 % stake of Garnacha Solar SL is expected to close by the third quarter of 2023 and represents an enterprise value of 170 million euros (~$188 million).
