At the latest edition of Hablemos de ALMA, our Director, Sean Dougherty, delved into the exciting possibilities for the observatory to adopt renewable energy solutions like photovoltaic plants, battery storage, and wind turbines.
Currently, ALMA relies on 11 million liters of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) annually, accounting for approximately 10% of our operating costs in Chile. Until now, we have been operating with one single gas turbine, and two backups, which has been reliable, but comes with a significant carbon footprint and environmental impact.
Sean highlighted that ALMA’s Development Plan for 2030, with upgrades like the Wide Bandwidth Sensitivity Upgrade (WSU), will probably demand an additional 4MW of power. “This need for increased capacity opens the door for ALMA to integrate green energy in the medium term,” he explained. Situated in a region with abundant solar potential, photovoltaic power is a promising alternative, particularly since grid connectivity is limited.
In response, we are evaluating the feasibility of a photovoltaic plant in complement to the single turbine power. This green infrastructure could reduce costs significantly compared to our current energy model that would require turning on a second turbine.
Sean closed the presentation by asking “everyone to first focus on the WSU upgrade. Once we have a clear path to the implementation of this important project, and then, under the assumption that more energy will be needed, some of us can focus on providing it with a green alternative.”
In the meantime, we have the opportunity to use current experiences in other observatories, like Cerro Pachon and APEX, to learn and to consider a green energy transition in a ten-year timescale.
It was good talk, with lots of very good questions from all the staff. We need to keep making progress on this regard!