Bolivia and Chile agree to advance technical and regulatory studies for Calama-Uyuni electrical interconnection with BID financing

Type: Partnership · Technology: Transmission · Country: Bolivia, Chile · Announced: 2026-08-13

Bolivia and Chile formalized a bilateral agenda to establish technical, regulatory, and institutional foundations for future electrical system integration, with the Inter-American Development Bank (BID) financing studies for the Calama-Uyuni interconnection corridor. The agreement, reached during a virtual meeting between Bolivia's Hydrocarbons Minister Marcelo Blanco Quintanilla and Chile's Energy Minister Ximena Rincón, establishes a Binational Technical Committee and regulatory working group to enable cross-border electricity trade. The initiative builds on prior studies under the Andean Electrical Interconnection System (SINEA), which identified complementary energy profiles between Bolivia's solar-rich generation and Chile's northern demand. While no specific interconnection capacity or timeline was disclosed, the project aims to leverage existing photovoltaic assets such as Bolivia's 62.5 MW Uyuni solar plant and Chile's concentrated northern solar generation, potentially reducing renewable energy curtailment in both systems.

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