Power Construction Corporation of China (POWERCHINA) has officially announced the commercial launch of the CEME1 photovoltaic project in northern Chile, marking a major milestone in the country’s clean energy journey. As Chile’s largest single-entity solar power facility, CEME1 began commercial operations on June 17, 2025, aligning with the United Nations World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. The project serves as a real-world demonstration of how large-scale renewable energy can support environmental restoration, climate goals, and sustainable land use.
Located in the Atacama Desert often referred to as the driest nonpolar desert on Earth—the CEME1 project lies approximately 1,300 kilometers from Santiago, the capital city. The facility has an installed capacity of 480 megawatts and covers around 400 hectares. Developed and constructed by POWERCHINA, the project includes a vast photovoltaic field, a 33/220 kV boost station, and a 9.2-kilometer single-loop transmission line that integrates the energy into the regional power grid.
The project’s location posed several challenges, from extreme heat and dryness to strong ultraviolet radiation, sandstorms, and labor shortages. Despite these difficulties, POWERCHINA executed the project through meticulous planning, optimized construction strategies, and efficient resource coordination. The construction also involved advanced wind-resistant and earthquake-proof technologies, tailored for the desert’s harsh environment and seismic activity, ensuring long-term operational stability.
The CEME1 facility is expected to generate approximately 2,863 megawatt-hours of clean electricity per day, enough to power around 400,000 households. It will also help cut annual carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 280,000 tons, contributing to Chile’s national goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Furthermore, the project supports global environmental efforts to combat land degradation and promote sustainable development in vulnerable ecosystems.
To maximize land use and boost efficiency, the project adopted a dome-type fixed structure that allows for a dense configuration of solar modules, reducing the space needed for maintenance roads and improving overall power generation capacity. This approach not only optimizes energy output but also limits the environmental footprint of the installation. Beyond its environmental impact, the project has brought social and economic benefits to the local community. At the peak of construction, it created nearly 1,000 direct jobs.
POWERCHINA also collaborated with local stakeholders to implement educational and technical training programs, helping to develop a skilled workforce for Chile’s growing renewable energy sector. The CEME1 solar project stands as a flagship example of POWERCHINA’s capabilities in delivering complex international infrastructure under demanding conditions. It enhances the company’s global standing while contributing meaningfully to Chile’s clean energy transition and environmental resilience.
