Chile’s Landmark ±600 kV Kimal-Lo Aguirre HVDC Corridor Surpasses 20% Construction Completion in Antofagasta

Conexión Kimal-Lo Aguirre and Chilean grid coordinator CEN have confirmed that Chile’s first high-voltage direct current project—a 1,343 km ±600 kV bipole li...

Chile’s Landmark ±600 kV Kimal-Lo Aguirre HVDC Corridor Surpasses 20% Construction Completion in Antofagasta

Conexión Kimal-Lo Aguirre and Chilean grid coordinator CEN have confirmed that Chile’s first high-voltage direct current project—a 1,343 km ±600 kV bipole line—has surpassed 20% total construction completion, advancing converter foundation works in Antofagasta and Santiago.

Unlocking Solar Energy from the Atacama Desert

Spanning five administrative regions, the $1.5 billion transmission highway will transport 3,000 MW of low-cost solar electricity generated in the northern Atacama Desert directly into the Santiago metropolitan load center.

Civil engineering teams have excavated foundation footings for the Kimal converter station in María Elena and the Lo Aguirre receiving station near Pudahuel, preparing for the arrival of heavy converter transformers and valve hall superstructures in 2027.

Eliminating Chronic Curtailment and Transmission Constraints

Due to thermal bottlenecks on Chile’s existing 500 kV AC lines, over 2.5 TWh of solar generation has been curtailed annually.

By establishing an independent direct current bulk route, Kimal-Lo Aguirre will alleviate system-wide congestion, providing bi-directional frequency response and dynamic voltage stabilization across the National Electric System (SEN).