Ollagüe, the beauty of the altiplano

Ollagüe is located in the Province of El Loa, Antofagasta Region. Its population reaches 321 people and it integrates, together with the Calama, María Elena, San Pedro de Atacama, and Tocopilla Districts, the Electoral District No. 3, belonging to the 2nd Senate Circumscription.

Ollagüe, created in 1979, is a rural district located in the altiplano (high Andes plateau) of the Antofagasta Region. Its name comes from the Aymara word “ullañahua”, which means "beautiful view" and its geographical area has an extension of 2,912 km², which represents 2.30% of the regional surface area. The population of the entire district currently amounts to 321 inhabitants (114 women and 207 men), hosting 0.06% of the total population of the region; 100% correspond to the rural population (2002 census), of which 67.3% self-identify as indigenous.

The rest of the population is made up of people from other cities and municipal officials, public officers, and workers from the Antofagasta Bolivia Railway Company (FCAB).

The largest percentage of the population (65.1%) is concentrated in Ollagüe; the rest is distributed in the district’s villages such as Cebollar, Ascotán, Amincha, El Inca, Coska, Puquios, and Chela.

The entire portion of the territory that comprises the Ollagüe district is located within a marginal desert high- altitude climatic system BWh, (W. Koeppen's classification) with two seasons during the year, the Chilean winter and the summer convective rains also called, "Altiplano winter," with a strong thermal oscillation characterized by temperatures that run between -23°C and 25°C, and with winds that reach, on average, 60 km/h. There is occasional rainfall during the year mainly during the "high plateau winter."

Ollagüe is an isolated high-altitude village bordering the Republic of Bolivia. The delimitation of the district is surrounded by mountain ranges that form part of the Cordillera de los Andes and that include mountains and volcanoes ranging between 4,500 to 6,000 meters above sea level. The flat plateaus generally have large salt flats, such as the Salar de Ascotán, which have average altitudes of between 3,700 and 4,000 meters above sea level.

Renewable energy reaches Ollagüe

Beginning in 2014, inhabitants of the town of Ollagüe, in the Province of Loa in the Region of Antofagasta, had electricity available to them 24 hours a day for the first time. It is the first hybrid plant in the world that combines solar and wind energy and co-generation with the storage of electrical energy in molten salt batteries, providing energy to homes at high altitudes and in extreme climatic conditions with temperatures between -20 °C and 20 °C.

The plant, which combines photovoltaic energy, a vertical-axis wind turbine, and a co-generation system for the production of electricity and hot water for the town’s school, has an installed capacity of 235 kW and will generate approximately 460 MWh per year, equal to the electricity consumption of approximately 150 homes.

Since the first hybrid plant in Chile entered into operation, oil consumption decreased by approximately 85%, the carbon footprint decreased, and the environmental condition of Ollagüe improved through the consolidation of a sustainable energy model. In so doing, annoying noises are no longer produced, and inhabitants are finally enjoying the electricity supply 24 hours a day.

This improvement has led to a drastic change in people's quality of life, as well as in the rural healthcare service, school, community center, municipality, law enforcement units, Customs, and in other services such as restaurants and accommodations.

Construction of the hybrid plant entailed an intense joint and collaborative work with the local indigenous community, who played a pivotal role in the project’s strategic definitions. The inhabitants, largely belonging to the Quechua community, were directly involved in the plant definitions and received training on the proper use of the system.

This innovative project, which saw the installation of over 1,600 photovoltaic panels, has become the first renewable energy hybrid plant for community use in Chile. This has been possible thanks to a public-private partnership between Minera El Abra and Enel Green Power, with the support of the Regional Ministerial Secretary of Energy, the University of Chile, and the municipality of Ollagüe, which is responsible for maintenance and administration of the plant.

Cerro Pabellón – 2021-2023 Sustainability Plan

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Ollagüe, the beauty of the altiplano

Renewable energy reaches Ollagüe

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