Chinese-built solar park to light up 160,000 homes in Argentina

South America’s largest solar park, built with Chinese funding and technology, has opened in Argentina, powering more than 160,000 homes, Xinhua news agency has reported.

Cauchari Solar Park is located atop a remote mountain peak 4,000 meters above sea level, near the town of Cauchari, which borders neighboring Chile and Bolivia.

The park, which is part of Argentina’s plan to boost renewable energy generation, consists of three smaller parks with a generating capacity of 100 megawatts each. More than 1.18 million solar panels have been distributed across an area of 800 hectares.

The $390 million project is led by Chinese company Shanghai Electric Power Construction and 85 percent funded by the Export-Import Bank of China. The local government provided the remaining 15 percent of funds.

Cauchari, which is already in the process of expanding, has helped create 1,200 jobs for local residents and indigenous people, according to Argentine President Mauricio Macri.

The solar park “is just a taste of what the locals can offer to the rest of the country,” Macri said via a video call at the inauguration ceremony. “It is just the beginning, because Jujuy’s solar energy generating capacity is almost infinite.”

According to Macri, the solar park, already in the expansion process, has helped create 1,200 jobs for local residents and indigenous people.

Project officials told Xinhua the photovoltaic plant will cut carbon dioxide emissions by at least 325,000 tons.

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