Chile: International call for bids for the Kimal - Lo Aguirre transmission line construction, with HVDC (direct current) technology and an estimated investment of US$1,176 million.

On October 27, 2020, the Coordinador Eléctrico Nacional (independent agency to coordinate the domestic electrical system operation) and the Chilean Ministry of Energy started the international bidding process to construct a new power line.

This infrastructure will run from Antofagasta to the Metropolitan Region, transporting large volumes of energy generated by multiple renewable sources, mainly solar and wind. Most of this generation's projects are still under construction. The new line will transmit from the north to Central Chile, where there are main energy consumption centers.

The project will be the first in Chile in the direct bipolar current (HVDC). It will have a capacity of 2,000 MW per pole, a voltage level of at least 600 kV, and an approximate extension of 1,500 kilometers.

The works will last 84 months and will employ some 5,000 specialized workers. The line will run parallel to the current 500 kV Kimal-Cardones-Polpaico corridor line, which operates in alternating current (HVAC) and will be insufficient in the short term. The new transmission line will provide a more robust and resilient national transmission network in the face of the possible effects of climate change or congestion.

This project also seeks to make viable the decarbonization process underway in Chile to achieve carbon neutrality goals by 2050.

Accordingly, this process came ahead several years due to a voluntary commitment assumed by the generators with the Ministry of Energy. The agreement involves stopping new coal-fired power plants development and retiring the existing ones, following a schedule.

Additionally, this project´s relevance and urgency have to do with the many renewable sources available to generate electricity in the north. This fact has allowed many projects to develop in these regions in recent years.

This way the line will replace coal-fired generation in the coming decades, according to studies conducted by the Coordinador Eléctrico Nacional in the framework of the proposed expansion of the transmission works required in the National Electric System ("SEN") and the National Energy Commission, under the Ministry of Energy.

Canada's Transgrid Solutions and Dessau Engineering advised the design of the bidding conditions: design criteria, regulations, and specifications. And they were made available to interested parties on October 26, 2020.

The awarding is scheduled for October 29, 2021, and the line in question is expected to be operational in December 2028. More information, as well as the bidding schedule, is available at www.coordinador.cl.

Dentons Larrain Rencoret makes available to its clients and interested companies in the tender or the preliminary bases to its specialized team of lawyers to provide comprehensive advice in this process.