Codelco Awards Contracts to Buy 1.5 TWh Per Year from Renewable Sources

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Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Chilean state miner Codelco (Santiago, Chile) has awarded two contracts to supply its operations with 1.5 terawatts-hours (TWh) of renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions in its operations.

The decision comes after a tender process opened in 2024, in which 32 companies participated. Generadora Metropolitana (Santiago) won a contract to supply 1 TWh per year, while GR Power Chile will supply the remaining 0.5 TWh.

The companies will begin supplying power to Codelco from January next year until December 2040, and the contract considers storage systems based on lithium batteries.

Renewable energy will be supplied to meet the current and future power requirements of Codelco's divisions.

These agreements are part of Codelco's strategy to source 100% of its electricity from renewable technologies by 2030. Meanwhile, the company has set clear goals to reduce emissions from all its fronts as part of its long-term strategy.

"With these contracts, we are strengthening our plan to completely decarbonize our electricity grid by 2030, which reinforces the path toward sustainable mining, aligned with our goal of being a pillar of sustainable development in Chile and the world," said Rubén Alvarado, Codelco's chief executive officer.

In January, the state mining company also announced that it plans to reduce its Scope 3 emissions by 25% by 2030. Scope 3 emissions refer to greenhouse gas emissions generated by assets not owned or controlled by the company but that indirectly affect its operations, such as the transport of materials, services or the sale and processing of cathodes by the final client.

Among the policies implemented to achieve this goal is the electrification of workers' transport, which is expected to reach 40% by 2030 and 100% by 2040. The plan also includes emissions reduction in maritime transport and decrease the carbon footprint of other materials used in operations such as explosives, refractors and lubricants.

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