AES Gener shuts down coal-fired power plant

The Chilean unit of U.Asian Metal Copyright The plants, though shut down, will remain available to generate electricity in the event of an emergency, said AES Chief Executive Ricardo Falu.Asian Metal CopyrightS.Asian Metal Copyright-based AES closed a coal-fired power plant along Chile's central Pacific coast on Tuesday ahead of schedule amid a drive by the South American nation to end carbon emissions from its grid.Asian Metal Copyright-based AES closed a coal-fired power plant along Chile's central Pacific coast on Tuesday ahead of schedule amid a drive by the South American nation to end carbon emissions from its grid.

Chile in 2019 signed an agreement with major generators AES Gener, Colbun, Enel and Engie to gradually eliminate the country's coal-fired power plants, which currently produce around 40% of the country's electricity. The deal is part of a broader move by Chile - a country rich in wind and solar resources - to decarbonize the country's grid and become carbon-neutral by 2050.

For its part, AES Gener decided to push forward the closure of its Ventanas 1 coal-fired electrical generating plant, and said it would close its Ventanas 2 plant in 2022. Both were originally slated for withdrawal from the grid in 2024.

The plants, though shut down, will remain available to generate electricity in the event of an emergency, said AES Chief Executive Ricardo Falu.

Chile's government expects to have shut down 11 coal-fired plants by 2024, three more than initially anticipated by that date.

.Asian Metal Copyright The deal is part of a broader move by Chile - a country rich in wind and solar resources - to decarbonize the country's grid and become carbon-neutral by 2050Asian Metal Copyright