Chile - $1 billion to be invested to build wind farms in Chile over the next five years

Irish renewable energy firm Mainstream Renewable Power will invest $1 billion over the next five years to build wind farms in Chile, the company announced in a statement.

The project, in cooperation with Chile's Andes Energy, is expected to generate more than 400MW of electricity and supply power to more than 300,000 homes.

The first wind farm will be built at Laguna Verde (near Valparaiso) and is expected to begin operations next year. It will consist of 16 windmills producing enough electricity to supply 19,000 homes. Other potential wind farm sites have been selected across the country.

"The $1 billion investment is just our starting point. If we can install not 400 megawatts but 800, 1,500 or 2,000 megawatts, we'll do it," Jose Ignacio Escobar, CEO of the company's Chilean arm, said in a statement.

Mainstream CEO Eddie O’Connor said their research indicates Chile has the natural resources to develop 44,000MW of wind energy and another 37,000 of solar energy, adding that renewable resources could turn Chile into an exporter of clean energies.