OSLO- Norwegian power producer Statkraft STATKF.UL will build three onshore wind farms with a combined capacity of 102 megawatt (MW) in Chile, its first such units in the South American country, the company said on Monday.
In total, the Torsa wind power project is expected to produce more than 300 gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable energy annually once fully operational by December 2022, enough power to supply 100,000 average Chilean households, Statkraft said.
The wind farms are located in the O'Higgins region, 124 kilometres south of the capital Santiago and would help satisfy Chile's increasing demand for renewable power, it added.
Construction of the 19 turbines by manufacturer Nordex will start in the second half of 2021, Statkraft said.
The Norwegian state-owned utility has been present in Chile since 2014 and currently owns hydropower plants with a capacity of 209 MW and an annual production of 747 GWh in the world's southernmost country.
(Reporting by Nora Buli, editing by Terje Solsvik) ((Nora.Buli@thomsonreuters.com; (+47) 21 04 05 56; Reuters Messaging: nora.buli.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
