Andes Mainstream Renewable Power has entered the first stages of developing a 162 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the Atacama Desert in Chile, according to Photon International. The project is near the town of Diego de Almagro, in the Chañaral region and will consist of approximately 519,000 polycrystalline PV modules at a total investment of $420 million, according to a publication by the Chilean Environmental Impact Assessment Agency.

Andes Mainstream and its parent company Mainstream Renewable Power have applied to develop a total of nearly 3 GW of PV and solar thermal projects in Chile. In December, Mainstream applied for the development of another 75 MW project in Northern Chile. The SEIA has approved 685 MW so far, according to PV Tech.

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