Who is Cerro Dominador?
Cerro Dominador was created after the construction of what will become the first Concentrated Solar Power Plant (CSP) in Latin America. We want to strengthen Chile’s energy industry by providing clean, reliable energy through innovative and sustainable solutions that contribute to the decarbonization of the national energy matrix and to a more electric future.
This ambitious project, begun in 2014, has overcome more than one obstacle, including the mass protesting in October 2019 and the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The construction stage ended at the close of 2020 and the first operating testing is now under way.
Cerro Dominador in numbers
2020 Milestones
We completed the installation of the Cerro Dominador CSP tower receiver. This structure will concentrate the solar radiation reflected from the 10,600 heliostats located around the tower to heat the salts that are then stored to generate electricity.
End of the salt melting process. We melted 46 thousand tons of salts from the Atacama Desert, reaching the 94% progress milestone in the project. The salts are stored at 565°Celsius in hot salt tanks and 290°Celsius in cold salt tanks.
We signed an agreement for the sale of carbon emission reduction certificates. Starting in 2021, we will be able to sell carbon emission reduction certificates under the Verified Carbon Standard program thanks to an agreement with South Pole.
Ministers of Energy and of Science visited our Cerro Dominador plant as part of the “Chile will recover step by step” plan that considers the energy sector to be an engine for the country’s economic reactivation.
A contract with the Saesa group entered into effect to supply electricity to unregulated customers in the south of the country.
Participation in FIDELMOV: An E-mobility trade fair where the latest world trends in electro-mobility can be found.
Construction ended of the first concentrated solar power plant in Latin America. Soon the commissioning testing will begin, followed by the start-up of the first CSP plant in Latin America.
Recognitions
3rd place in the contest on “Good practices for a more sustainable electric future.”
2020 National Environmental Award of Recyclápolis Foundation in the categories of “Fire” and “Best of the Best.”
Award for Organizational Leadership from C3E.