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

  • February 3, 2012
    South Africa's first multi-lane free-flow tolling top of the line
    Kapsch's Kjell Arnesson talks about the first multi-lane free-flow tolling project in South Africa. In South Africa, installation is ongoing as part of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) of the country's first Multi-Lane Free-Flow (MLFF) tolling system.
    Read More
  • January 25, 2012
    The future of ITS post recession
    ACS, A Xerox Company's Cees de Wijs talks about post-recession recovery and what we might expect to see in the coming years
    Read More
  • January 20, 2012
    Infrastructure spending is an investment in economic recovery
    Transportation funding is caught in the crossfire as the President calls for infrastructure investment and a reinvigorated Republican majority in the House pushes back on federal spending. Andrew Bardin Williams reports. Every few months some politician or pundit declares that the country is on the verge of making the most important political decision in a generation. The 2006 mid-term election; the 2008 Presidential election; the passing of the stimulus bill; healthcare reform; the mania surrounding Tea Pa
    Read More
  • April 5, 2021
    LA confirms $133m transit contracts
    Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project includes rail and monorail solutions for busy road routes
    Read More

Highlighted Content