Bienvenido a Chile! Expanding our mission in Latin America.

It has been two years already since we first brought our solar-as-a-service solution to Latin America, starting with Costa Rica. The vast potential of Latin America’s geography for solar projects, alongside the urgent need of businesses to reduce energy costs and switch to sustainable energy, proved to us that this was just the beginning for more countries and actions to arrive.

Therefore, we are glad to announce that we have made our way into the Chilean market with our first own solar project!  

The timing is ideal as for the past five years, Chile has seen a rapid increase in renewable energy capacity, alongside a decrease in Chile’s coal plants, as with this example. 

The Chilean government is expecting at least 11 coal units to go offline by 2024, more than the previously planned eight, building upon the country’s goal of shutting down all 5.5 GW of the country’s coal-fired generation by 2040.  

Renewable energy in Chile is also supported by a clear policy framework. From 2013 onwards, the Chilean government requires utilities with up to 200 MW of capacity to meet at least 20% of their contractual obligations from renewable sources by 2025. 

At the same time, renewable energy has attracted $14.8 billion worth of investments between 2010-19 with the total installed capacity rising from 5% in 2014 to 23% by May 2020. Alongside that, the low cost of wind and solar energy, both nationally and internationally, make renewables push fossil fuel power generation out of the energy mix, allowing the country to meet its climate change targets. 

The existing fruitful ground for renewable energies in the Chilean market has allowed us to strike our first collaboration with a local business, in our ever-evolving mission of bringing impactful solar solutions where needed the most. 

The 290 kWp Solar Project for Universidad Adventista de Chile 

The Universidad Adventista de Chile (UNACH) is a private university – one of the top fifteen institutions in Chile – located near the city of Chillán. The campus extends over twenty-five acres. The solar system that we will be building will have a total capacity of around 290 kWp, starting with the finance of 120kWp on our first campaign. 

This is a joint project between us and our trusted EPC partner Grammer Solar. With their expertise in the solar power sector, counting already 40 years, they bring top-quality PV system installations both in Germany and internationally.

Overall, as with this project, all our solar projects achieve at least three of the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) as defined by the United Nations – Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) Goal 13 (Climate Action), and Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). In this instance, we have the opportunity to contribute to yet another very important global goal – Goal 4 (Quality Education). 

The solar system will be also contributing to the Institutional Strategic Plan set by the University with the goal of switching their energy sources to non-conventional renewable energy alternatives.  

At the Universidad Adventista we train competent professionals and university graduates who make a contribution to the scientific, cultural and social development of Chile. We are proud to be a role model for our students by purchasing solar energy for our campus in the near future.

Mauricio Comte Donoso, University Director, Universidad Adventista de Chile

ecoligo’s founders Martin Baart (CEO) and Markus Schwaninger (CFO) are closely collaborating with our Chilean country manager Jaime Gómez in these initial steps of entering the Chilean market. There is a lot of excitement and meticulous work in bringing our solar-as-a-service solution to more businesses in need of energy-efficient solutions in the country. 

We are very excited to enter a new market: Chile. The country is most known for its delicious wines, the mysterious Easter Island, and is one of the longest countries in the world. But due to its geography and high altitudes, it has something else to offer: sunshine. Lots of it. That’s why solar systems in the country make sense, producing a much higher yield than elsewhere. Thanks to our country manager Jaime, who is based in Santiago, we have now signed our first project!

Martin Baart, CEO & CO-FOUNDER, ecoligo

Chile is endowed with one of the highest levels of solar irradiation in the world while having a rather ‘’dirty’’ CO₂ power mix. Hence, it is a no-brainer to use solar to power the country. At ecoligo, we want to play a key role in accelerating sustainable development.

Markus Schwaninger, CFO & CO-FOUNDER, ecoligo 

What does the future hold for ecoligo in Chile? 

The Chilean decarbonization strategy has been set in motion with clear goals. For these goals to be achieved, it cannot be without the development of decentralized systems which directly supply clean energy to businesses and consumers alike. 

We see a promising future in the development of the Chilean solar energy sector, especially for small and medium-sized solar systems. Already many local companies and organizations are aware of the benefits that these systems bring and are conscious of the need to reduce CO₂ emissions to prevent climate change. Through ecoligo Chile, we can actively contribute in Chile achieving its climate goals by fostering its sustainable development.”

Jaime Gómez, Country Manager Chile, ecoligo

Institutions like Universidad Adventista – our first Chilean client – as well as companies in the service or production industries, are looking for solutions that will allow them to become sustainable by offering “greener” products and services. 

Besides that, as Chile is also well known for its agricultural products, there is additional potential in the agro-industrial sector, a sector that significantly contributes to the Chilean economy and needs to adapt to meet the global sustainable standards.  

You can now make the first step with us in the Chilean market by supporting a project boosting the country’s sustainable growth. Together we are the change we want to see in the world, united with the crowd under one main goal, saving our planet.