- By disconnecting Unit II of the Bocamina power plant, Enel Chile closed its last operating coal-fired unit, shutting down its entire coal fleet 18 years ahead of the decarbonization target set in 2019
- In line with the Enel Group’s decarbonization and energy transition goals, Enel Chile expects to connect around 500 MW of new renewable capacity to the grid in the coming months
Rome, September 30th, 2022 - The Enel Group’s Chilean company Enel Chile today disconnected and ceased operations at Unit II of its Bocamina coal-fired power plant, located in the municipality of Coronel, after receiving authorization from the Chilean National Energy Commission. With this milestone, which follows the closure of Tarapacà in 2019 and Bocamina’s Unit I in 2021, Enel becomes the first power company in the country to stop using coal for its generation operations, 18 years ahead of the original 2040 goal set within Chile’s 2019 National Decarbonization Plan.
"The shut-down of our last operating coal-fired generation unit in Chile highlights the Enel Group’s commitment towards the decarbonization of its energy systems,” said Salvatore Bernabei, CEO of Enel Green Power. The pursuit of decarbonization goals is coupled with the continued strengthening of our renewables portfolio, which includes wind, geothermal, solar, hydro and battery storage."
For the full decarbonization of its generation mix, Enel Chile implemented a Just Energy Transition strategy, which incorporates technological, social and environmental solutions to ensure that the shut-down of the company’s coal fleet was carried out maximizing value for the plants’ employee, contractors and the local communities.
In line with this strategy, the closure of Bocamina’s Unit II includes relocation options for the plant’s employees, the implementation of a broad series of initiatives for the social, economic and entrepreneurial development of the Coronel community, as well as an ambitious revegetation project to transform the 10-hectare area of the plant’s ash landfill, which will no longer be used, into a native forest. In addition, in line with circular economy principles, the company is studying various alternatives to reuse the facility’s assets in order to provide new life to the site and create development opportunities for the area.
Enel Chile continues to grow its renewable footprint: between August and September, the company started commercial operations at two solar plants, Azabache and Sol de Lila, for a total of 221 MW and another approximately 500 MW of renewable capacity are expected to be connected in the coming months.
This achievement is fully in line with the Enel Group’s 2022-2024 Strategic Plan and its 2030 Vision, which place decarbonization and the acceleration of the energy transition at the core. Enel plans to exit coal generation by 2027 and gas generation by 2040, replacing its thermal fleet with new renewable capacity as well as leveraging on the hybridization of renewables with storage solutions. As a result, the Group expects that its investments under the “Ownership” and “Stewardship” business models will lead to an overall renewable capacity of around 77 GW by 2024, with a view to reach around 154 GW by 2030.
Enel in Chile is the largest power company by installed capacity which, following the closure of Bocamina's unit II, amounts to around 7.8 GW, including more than 5.8 GW from renewable energy, namely around 3.5 GW from hydro, over 1.5 GW from solar, 642 MW from wind and 69 MW from geothermal.The Group also operates in the distribution sector through Enel Distribución Chile, which serves over 2 million end users, as well as in the advanced energy solutions business through Enel X Chile.
Enel, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, is a multinational power company and a leading integrated player in the global power and renewables markets.
At global level, it is the largest renewable private player, the foremost network operator by number of end users and the biggest retail operator by customer base. The Group is the worldwide demand response leader and the largest European utility by ordinary EBITDA [1].
Enel is present in 30 countries worldwide, producing energy with around 92 GW of total capacity.
Enel Grids, the Group’s global business line dedicated to the management of the electricity distribution service worldwide, delivers electricity through a network of around 2.3 million kilometers to more than 75 million end users. The Group brings energy to around 70 million homes and businesses. Enel’s renewables arm Enel Green Power has a total capacity of around 55 GW and a generation mix that includes wind, solar, geothermal, and hydroelectric power, as well as energy storage facilities, installed in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Enel X Global Retail, Enel's global business line active in the areas of energy supply and efficiency, has a total capacity of around 7.9 GW of demand response managed globally and has installed 62 MW of behind-the-meter storage capacity. In addition, Enel X Way is the Group’s new company fully dedicated to electric mobility, managing more than 380,000 public and private EV charging points worldwide, both directly and through interoperability agreements.
[1] Enel’s leadership in the different categories is defined by comparison with competitors’ FY 2021 data. Publicly owned operators are not included.