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

  • Chris Tomlinson: 'My golden rule is have an open mind’
    July 27, 2021
    The executive director of Georgia’s mobility authorities explains tolling’s place in demand management, the benefits of being mode-agnostic and how to learn from other agencies
    Read More
  • Solar studs receive DfT approval
    March 31, 2014
    Rennicks UK has achieved full Department for Transport (DfT) Type Approval for their SR-15 active road studs, which use LED and solar technology to create highly effective highway delineation said to be far more effective than traditional retro-reflective studs. The DfT authorisation, which follows a year-long trial, is likely to have far-reaching implications in both Britain and further afield, opening the door for local authorities and management contractors searching for cost-effective and sustainable
    Read More
  • Intel outlines AV limits of perception
    January 12, 2021
    CES 2021: Intel boss Amnon Shashua suggests radar and Lidar as redundant add-ons
    Read More
  • Missouri’s smart solution for rural road monitoring
    July 7, 2017
    David Crawford sees how Missouri is using commercially available information to rapidly improve monitoring and driver information on rural highways. Missouri is a predominantly rural state with the second largest number of farms in the country and agriculture the main occupation in 97 of its 114 counties. US statistics starkly reveal how road accidents in rural areas tend to be more serious than in urban regions and of the 32,000 US motorists killed each year, 54% die on roads in rural areas even though onl
    Read More

Highlighted Content