Repsol Ibereólica Renovables Chile signs a power purchase agreement for its Atacama wind power project

Repsol Ibereólica Renovables Chile, a company jointly owned by Repsol and the Ibereólica Renovables Group, with 50% each, has signed a 14-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for its Atacama wind farm, guaranteeing double-digit profitability of this renewable generation asset.

The project, with a total capacity of 180 megawatts (MW), is located in the Chilean municipality of Freirina, in the province of Huasco and the region of Atacama. It is expected to start up in the second half of 2022.

The Atacama wind farm is the second that Repsol and the Ibereólica Renovables Group are jointly developing in Chile, after Cabo Leones III. The joint venture between the two companies created last July has a portfolio of assets in operation, construction, or advanced development of more than 1,600 MW until 2025 in this South American country, with the possibility of exceeding 2,600 MW by 2030.

Repsol and the Ibereólica Renovables Group are already making progress in the construction of their first joint wind farm in Chile, called Cabo Leones III, with an installed capacity of 189 MW. This project is also located in the Atacama region and is divided into two phases. The first phase (79 MW) entered into commercial operation last December. The second (110 MW) will begin to supply electricity commercially in the second quarter of 2021.

On January 15, Repsol CEO Josu Jon Imaz and the Chairman of the Ibereólica Renovables Group, Gregorio Álvarez, presided over a ceremony prior to the departure from the port of Bilbao of the 22 wind turbines, with a capacity of 5 MW each, for the second phase of the Cabo Leones III wind farm.

Even though these wind projects are located in Chile, the economic activity of projects like this is very important for Spain, both in the engineering phases and in the production of the elements that make up the renewable installation as well as its handling and transport.

Last November, during the presentation of its Strategic Plan 2021- 2025, Repsol advanced and deepened its commitment to becoming a net zero emissions company by 2050, based on an existing roadmap with more ambitious intermediate goals and total investments worth €18.3 billion. Investments in low-carbon initiatives will amount to €5.5 billion between 2021 and 2025 - 30% of the company's total spending.

These investments will be accompanied by an international expansion of the low-carbon business based on profitability criteria and the goal of becoming a global operator, and with a generation capacity that will reach 7.5 gigawatts (GW) in 2025 and 15 GW in 2030.

The Ibereólica Renovables Group, of Spanish origin, currently has 12 wind farms in operation with an installed capacity of 205 MW in Spain and 444 MW in Chile. It has approximately 10 GW of wind and photovoltaic capacity in various stages of development in Spain, Chile, Peru, and Brazil.