BEIJING, June 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Power Construction Corporation of China (“POWERCHINA” or “the Company”) announced that the CEME1 photovoltaic project in Chile, the country’s largest single-entity solar power facility, has now officially entered commercial operation. Coinciding with the United Nations World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, the project stands as a real-world example of how green energy development can help safeguard fragile land ecosystems while advancing carbon neutrality goals.
POWERCHINA’s CEME1 Solar Project in Chile powers 400,000 homes and supports land resilience in the Atacama Desert
Located in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, known as the “driest nonpolar desert in the world” of the world, the CEME1 photovoltaic project stands approximately 1,300 kilometers from the capital city. The project boasts a total installed capacity of 480 megawatts and spans approximately 400 hectares. It was executed by POWERCHINA and includes a photovoltaic field, a 33/220 kV boost station, and a 9.2-kilometer single-loop transmission line.
The project not only helps fight climate change, but also aligns with global efforts to halt land degradation. With over 40% of the world’s land already degraded and droughts increasingly severe, large-scale renewable energy initiatives like CEME1 offer sustainable solutions for both energy and land resilience.
The project site’s harsh climate—hot, dry, with intense ultraviolet radiation and frequent sandstorms—coupled with a shortage of labor, posed significant challenges to the construction. The project team, well-organized and determined, overcame these obstacles through meticulous resource planning, optimized construction plans, and expedited work processes.
Now in commercial operation, the CEME1 project is expected to generate approximately 2,863 megawatt-hours of electricity daily, supplying clean energy to around 400,000 households. It is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 280,000 tons annually. This supports Chile’s carbon neutrality goal by 2050 and contributes to regional efforts in sustainable land use and drought adaptation.
POWERCHINA’s strategic implementation of the CEME1 project underscores its commitment to global renewable energy development and its capability to manage large-scale energy projects under challenging conditions. This project not only enhances POWERCHINA’s position in the global market but also contributes significantly to the sustainable energy landscape in Chile.
The CEME1 solar project has become a model of POWERCHINA’s high-quality overseas project. As a key international market initiative for POWERCHINA, CEME1 solar project successfully overcame the challenges posed by extreme weather conditions in Atacama Desert by implementing advanced wind-resistant and seismic-proof support structure technologies for photovoltaic stations, ensuring stable operation in this earthquake-prone region.
The project uses dome type fixed structure, which maximize photovoltaic module arrangement within limited land area by reducing maintenance roads, thereby enhancing land utilization and optimizing power generation capacity.
Notably, based on the successful delivery of the CEME1 project, the Project Owner has expressed strong confidence in POWERCHINA’s execution capabilities. The project has substantially boosted local employment, creating nearly one thousand direct jobs during peak construction periods. POWERCHINA has also partnered with local communities to implement various educational and skills training programs, developing numerous professionals for Chile’s renewable energy sector.
