Thales, a French aerospace and defense company, is set to inaugurate the world's first air traffic control station fully powered by renewable energy in Chile's Atacama desert in April.
The station, located in the northern town of Calama, will be used by Chile's civil aviation authority DGAC and will be powered by 340 solar panels and adjacent batteries, taking advantage of the region's abundant sunlight. The radars at the station require around 1 megawatt of power per hour.
Thales' Brazil head, Luciano Macaferri, highlighted the company's commitment to technological developments based on alternative energy sources. He stated, “Our team in Brazil had already been working on technological developments based on alternative energy sources for a few years, so we decided to take on this challenge. No one had ever made a 100% off-grid radar.”
The project, which was awarded to Thales in 2021 after DGAC solicited air traffic control proposals for the desert area, faced several challenges during implementation. Macaferri explained, “We had to build two bridges to move equipment there over nearby gas pipelines. And while preparing the site, we found some archeological artifacts. So we got in touch with local Indigenous groups and they demarcated part of the area.”
Thales is now looking to replicate this success by developing similar projects in other areas without access to the power grid, utilizing various renewable energy sources such as wind and hydropower. Macaferri expressed optimism about the future, stating, “This was a first example. It ended up being out of Brazil, but we already see many airports interested in (renewable energy) to reduce their carbon footprint.”
