Sungrow Inverter Helps Chilean Photovoltaic Project in the Atacama Desert

Sungrow announced that it will supply its turnkey PV inverter solutions and PV panel cleaning solutions to a 480 MW photovoltaic project in Chile’s Atacama Desert. This large-scale Chilean photovoltaic project is expected to contribute significantly to the country’s long-term Energy Policy 2050.

The 480 MW PV plant covers an area of over 400 hectares, roughly the size of 370 football fields. Scheduled to complete commissioning in 2023, the Atacama Desert solar project will generate around 1,145 GWh of clean electricity annually, enough to power approximately 75,000 households and avoid about 916,200 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

Located in the Atacama Desert, the driest non-polar desert in the world, the project faces a unique combination of environmental extremes, including extreme dryness, high solar radiation and frequent sand. This makes the region one of the world’s hottest solar hubs, but also creates harsh conditions for PV equipment.

To address these challenges, Sungrow provides its SG6250HV-MV inverter solution, featuring optimal IP65 high protection capability, making the Sungrow inverter resilient to sand, dust and dry conditions. The 6.25 MW solution integrates an anti-PID function (Potential Induced Degradation), helping recover power degradation in PV modules and ensuring higher yields and longer module lifetimes. In addition, the inverter solution includes a built-in DC energy storage interface, which supports direct connection to an energy storage system, enabling customers to prepare for future storage requirements and maximize system flexibility.

At the same time, Sungrow’s subsidiary Sunpure will supply 374 units of flexible PV panel cleaning robots. This autonomous, waterless solar panel cleaning solution gently removes sand from the modules, ensuring stable and high power generation in the desert environment while minimizing water consumption and on-site labor.

The project’s EPC contractor, POWERCHINA Huadong Engineering Corporation Limited (HDEC), is a globally recognized engineering and construction company. HDEC and Sungrow began their long-term partnership five years ago, and their joint projects now span the Middle East, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan and China with over 1 GW of total installations.

“Chile is leading the way in sustainable development and sets a strict requirement for project stakeholders. We value Sungrow’s extensive and proven experience and are excited about what is to come with this agreement as Sungrow works towards minimizing LCOE and streamlining O&M,” commented Liu Chengxi, General Manager of Americas at HDEC.

“Our actions are firmly grounded in customer demands, aiming to offer best-in-class products and services needed to thrive in a low-carbon world. Being part of the Atacama Chilean photovoltaic project is a tremendous opportunity for Sungrow to create additional customer value and drive business growth,” said James Wu, Vice President of Sungrow.