Skip to main content

Santiago Metro to run on solar energy

Total and its affiliate, solar energy technology company SunPower have signed an agreement with the Metro of Santiago, Chile, for the supply of 300 gigawatt hours per year of clean solar energy. They say that the agreement makes the metro, which carries 2.2 million passengers a day, the first public transportation system in the world to run mostly on solar energy. According to Eduardo Medina, executive vice president, global power plants, SunPower, solar power is an ideal energy source for Chile because
May 25, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Total and its affiliate, solar energy technology company SunPower have signed an agreement with the Metro of Santiago, Chile, for the supply of 300 gigawatt hours per year of clean solar energy. They say that the agreement makes the metro, which carries 2.2 million passengers a day, the first public transportation system in the world to run mostly on solar energy.

According to Eduardo Medina, executive vice president, global power plants, SunPower, solar power is an ideal energy source for Chile because of the country's high solar resource and transparent energy policies.

SunPower will build the El Pelícano Solar Project, a 100-megawatt (AC) project near the municipalities of La Higuera (Coquimbo Region) and Vallenar (Atacama Region) and provide operations and maintenance once it is operational. Construction of the solar power plant will begin this year, with expected operation by the end of 2017.

"We are proud to partner with Metro in developing a new way of powering public transportation systems through competitive, reliable and clean energy," says Bernard Clément, senior vice president of Business & Operations of the New Energies division of Total.

Related Content

  • IRF Geneva leads UN road safety meeting
    October 5, 2022
    The International Road Federation (IRF) in Geneva convened key industry leaders to discuss “Action for Road Safety: Private Sector Leadership” on the occasion of the UN High Level Meeting on Global Road Safety hosted in New York
  • ITS asset management matters
    April 26, 2013
    Maintenance of on-road ITS kit needs to become more sophisticated; while new technologies can deliver better road maintenance. David Crawford investigates both sides of the issue "Good information is key to effective ITS asset maintenance,” says Ian Routledge of the Ian Routledge Consultancy (IRC), whose Imtrac (Information Management for TRAffic Control) system is poised for European expansion. Developed as an ‘intelligent filing cabinet’ for storing information about on-road equipment, the online database
  • Go-Ahead partners with CitySwift platform
    October 30, 2024
    Platform is designed to maximise network reliability and punctuality
  • CDOT launches road usage charge pilot research program
    November 18, 2016
    The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has explored a number of ways to find sustainable road funding. It is facing a nearly US$1 billion annual funding gap over the next 25 years and is looking to explore transportation funding alternatives as the fuel tax continues to become less reliable over time, due decreased purchasing power and more fuel efficient and electric vehicles. This pilot is the first step in an extensive process of evaluating the concept alongside other funding alternatives. I