Chilean agribusiness Exportadora Subsole is developing a solar project in the Atacama Desert to open up land in the country’s third region for table grape production.
Solar energy will be used to pump underground water to farms growing table grapes in desert soils in the country’s Atacama region, according to a report on renewable energy website, Reve.
The Atacama Desert has the highest solar radiation levels on the planet, the article said, making it an ideal location for solar power generation.
“This solar energy plant will allow us to produce table grapes in Copiapó with a high proportion of clean solar energy,” said Subsole president Miguel Allamand. “In winter, when the farm doesn’t use all the energy produced, the energy will be transferred south and used to pack kiwifruit and avocados in one of our packing houses located close to Santiago. This will allow us to produce and pack fruit in an environmentally friendly way, while also ensuring stable energy costs and higher efficiency.”
According to the report, solar panel installation is almost complete at one of the company’s grape farms located 800km to the north of Santiago in the Copiapó Valley. The farm includes 265ha of table grape production with one hectare given over to solar energy generation.
“It is fundamental for Chile to take a strong leadership on the clean energy issue ahead of our competitors in the Southern Hemisphere,” said Allamand. “This photovoltaic project creates a precedent for national and global agriculture and for the development of clean and renewable energy for the productive sector in Chile. It shows that it’s possible to use zero-emission energy to produce quality fruit.”
Allamand said the project could be replicated in other parts of the country and within other sectors of horticultural industry.
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