Plan for Chile’s first offshore wind farm unveiled by local and UK partners

A British developer led by a former Mainstream Renewable Power (MRP) executive has launched a plan to build an up to 1GW offshore wind project – likely using floating turbines – that would be the first of its kind in Chile.

17 Energy and its Chilean partner SC Power have unveiled the Viento Azul Biobío (VAB) Consortium, which wants to develop the project off Chile’s central Biobío region, home to coastal city Concepción.

17 Energy launched in March and is co-led by Úna Brosnan, vice chair of trade association RenewableUK and until last year head of offshore wind Ireland at developer MRP.

The other 17 Energy co-head, Dan Kyle Spearman, was until recently the global lead of floating wind at the Renewables Consulting Group, having previously led the offshore wind programme at UK consultancy The Carbon Trust.

SC Power is meanwhile a Chilean renewable energy company focused on offshore wind projects in South America.

The VAB consortium wants to develop a 500MW-1GW project. Its website says that it is “technology agnostic,” while noting the water depth in the region is favourable to floating wind.

VAB says it will take at least seven years to develop the project, which it aims to bring online sometime next decade.

VAB says the coastline where it wants to build the project has a high-capacity factor wind resource, access to some of Latin America’s best ports and would be able to serve the second largest industrial hub in Chile.

"This is a pivotal moment for Chile's energy future," said Daniel Perdomo, director at 17 Energy.

"The Viento Azul Biobío Consortium is committed to building a strong, sustainable offshore wind industry that creates jobs, drives economic growth, and protects our environment. Today we are taking our first steps in our journey to realising offshore wind in Chile”.

Chile is a leading country in Latin America for renewable energy. It generates around half of its electricity from wind, solar and, most significantly, hydropower, according to the International Energy Association.

In March, the Chilean government announced it would work on a roadmap for the development of offshore wind projects.

“Chile can be considered an emerging offshore wind market," said Carolina de Mas, an offshore wind policy and development expert specialising in Latin America.

Offshore wind turbines are "not specifically considered in the country’s regulations," she said, but some developers have shown interest in progressing projects under legislation for maritime concessions.

“Offshore wind could be considered a strategic resource to feed a number of demand centres in the country," she said, "complementing the existing solar generation, reducing onshore footprint and contributing to economic development and job creation as coal-fired power plants are gradually phased out."