Etrion recently announced the delay of construction for the 8.8-megawatt Aguas Blancas solar park in Chile. The project was being developed in Antofagasta to supply power to an iodine mine owned by Atacama Minerals, under a fifteen-year power purchase agreement. As iodine prices have dropped, the mine has suspended operations.
Most of the offtakers for solar power in the northern part of the country are in a similar situation. Softer commodity prices, or even the threat of softer commodity prices, can cast a shadow over mining companies’ ability to sign long-term power purchase agreements.
So is this Etrion announcement a harbinger of things to come, or just a one-time fluke in a country with solid fundamentals for solar development and a huge potential market upside?
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