Chile's Los Lagos: four wind farms add up to 1,202 MW and US$2.55 billion under environmental review

Wind energy dominates the investment pipeline of Chile's Los Lagos Region. Of the 22 projects under environmental review in the region, totaling US$3,183 million, four wind farms account for US$2,550 million, about 80%. Together they reach 1,202 MW of capacity, according to figures given on November 5 by the executive director of the Environmental Assessment Service (SEA), Arturo Farías, reported by Revista Electricidad and REDIMIN, and the extracts of each project published in Chile's Diario Oficial.

The SEA's briefing mentioned five wind farms, but one of them, Alto Volcanes (US$400 million), is according to its file a housing project of 2,045 homes in Puerto Montt, as REDIMIN found. That is why this article counts four.

The largest is Alto Los Muermos, at US$1,000 million: 43 turbines of up to 10 MW each, for 430 MW, in the municipalities of Los Muermos, Llanquihue and Puerto Varas. Its power would flow through a high-voltage line of about 47 km to the Tineo substation, and it includes a battery system of 250 MW and 1,340 MWh, able to deliver energy for just over five hours, according to the Diario Oficial extract of July 2025. The owner is Alto Los Muermos SpA, linked to Factor Energía.

Sources: SEA Los Lagos (via Revista Electricidad and REDIMIN, November 5-6, 2026) and extracts of the Environmental Impact Studies in the Diario Oficial. For Vientos del Lago, the nominal capacity to be injected into the system is 132 MW, although the turbines could add up to more.

Second is Trumao, by Germany's wpd: 40 turbines of 8 MW (320 MW) in Frutillar and Llanquihue, with a line of about 13.8 km, a 320 MW battery system and a connection also at the Tineo substation. The Evaluation Commission admitted it for review on December 29, 2025, with an investment of US$700 million and a 30-year lifetime, according to the official extract.

Mirador del Sur, also by Factor Energía and also in Los Muermos, proposes 32 turbines of up to 10 MW (320 MW) for US$650 million; according to Diario Financiero, construction would start in early 2029 and operation in March 2031. Vientos del Lago, by OPDE Chile, has been under review the longest: it was filed in December 2024 and the SEA has already granted it four extensions so that public agencies can complete their reports.

The south offers steadier winds and, above all, a profile that complements solar: it blows more at night and in winter, when the north's panels are not producing. For a power system that already has midday surpluses, southern wind energy is worth more than an additional solar MW in the desert. The Los Lagos projects reinforce this with batteries: Alto Los Muermos and Trumao together add 570 MW of storage.

The machines have changed too. Turbines of 8 to 10 MW, like those proposed by Trumao, Mirador del Sur and Alto Los Muermos, were unthinkable onshore ten years ago; today they generate the same with far fewer turbines. The world record is much higher, as the ranking of the largest wind turbine in the world shows.

Sources: extracts of the Environmental Impact Studies published in the Diario Oficial (July 2025 and January 2026) and trade press. With batteries, a wind farm can store energy from strong-wind hours and deliver it when the grid has room or prices rise.

• Complementarity: southern wind blows at night, when there is no sun.
• Built-in batteries: two of the four projects include storage.
• 8 to 10 MW turbines: fewer machines for the same capacity.
• Connection at Tineo: Alto Los Muermos and Trumao would use the same substation.

None of the four projects has its environmental qualification resolution yet. The investment figures are proposed amounts, not money spent. Southern wind farms also face objections over landscape, noise, birds and bats, and proximity to tourist areas such as Lake Llanquihue. Ex-Ante reported that Alto Los Muermos received a first request for clarifications (ICSARA) from the SEA.

Experience in other regions shows that timelines can stretch. Vientos del Lago has been under review for almost two years and has accumulated four extensions, which lengthen the time public agencies have to issue their reports. An extension is not a rejection, but it delays the decision and, with it, the construction schedule.

The SEA noted that US$1,332 million in projects had been approved in the region through November 1, 2026, compared with US$770 million with a favorable resolution in all of 2025, and that the government aims to cut review times by 30% without lowering technical rigor. It is the same approach as the plan that picked 20 strategic energy projects to speed up permits.

Transmission is the other bottleneck. For 1,202 MW from the south to reach consumption centers, the trunk grid between Puerto Montt and Biobío must have available capacity, and several expansion works are still under development. If all four are built, Los Lagos would become one of Chile's wind hubs, in a world where the largest complexes already exceed 10 GW, as seen in the largest wind farm in the world.

How many wind farms are under review in Los Lagos?

Four: Alto Los Muermos, Trumao, Mirador del Sur and Vientos del Lago. A fifth project in the SEA's briefing, Alto Volcanes, is a housing development according to its file.

How much capacity do they add up to?

1,202 MW: 430 MW from Alto Los Muermos, 320 MW from Trumao, 320 MW from Mirador del Sur and 132 MW from Vientos del Lago.

How much would they invest?

US$2,550 million in total, about 80% of the US$3,183 million under review in the region.

Which is the largest wind farm under review in Los Lagos?

Alto Los Muermos, with 43 turbines, 430 MW, 1,340 MWh of batteries and a US$1,000 million investment.

Have they been approved?

No. All four are still under environmental review and their investments are the developers' estimates.