Chile announces coal-fired power plant closures and 607 MW wind project

The Ministry of Energy of Chile has announced that around 700 MW of coal-fired power units will stop operations by 2024. Engie Energía Chile will close two units at the Mejillones coal-fired power plant (both commissioned in 1995) in 2024. In June 2019, the company closed two units (around 170 MW cumulated) at its Tocopilla coal-fired power plant and committed to close the remaining two units (268 MW in total) from 1 January 2022. Overall, the company will close over 770 MW of coal-fired power capacity by 2024. In addition, AES Gener has decided to anticipate the withdrawal of the Ventanas-1 and 2 coal-fired power plants (328 MW) that were commissioned in 1964 and 1977: the units will be shut down at the earliest date that the security of the Chilean national power system allows it. AES Gener is massively investing in renewables in Chile. The government plans to accelerate regulatory changes and investments in power transmission to make the shutdown viable. The retired capacity will be replaced with renewable power projects.

In June 2019, the Chilean government had presented a coal exit plan - agreed by power producers Engie, Enel, AES Gener and Colbun - that aimed to close all coal-fired power plants by 2040 and to make the power generation sector carbon-neutral by 2050. The eight oldest coal-fired power plants will be shut down by 2024: four units are located in Tocopilla (413 MW), two in Puchuncavi (Las Ventanas, 307 MW), one in Iquique and one in Coronel. Working groups will be created every five years to establish new closure schedules through 2040. 

In 2018, the last 28 coal-fired power plants accounted for 17% of Chile's installed power capacity (over 4.8 GW out of 25.9 GW) but for more than 30% of the country's power generation (25.6 TWh in 2018). The share of renewables (including biomass) has been rising since 2013 to reach 46% in 2018, as wind power generation increased sixfold and solar generation nearly 600-fold. Chile expects renewables to cover 70% of the power mix in 2030 and to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 30% by this date.

Meanwhile, Chilean power group Colbun will start the environmental approval process of its 607 MW Horizon wind project, in the Taltal area. Colbun had won the project under a tender called by the Ministry of National Assets in September 2017.