Atacama: Renewable Energy and Mining in the High Desert of Chile

This series examines the evolving nexus between renewable energy development and mining in Chile’s Atacama Desert. It is a chapter of Jamey Stillings' long-term project, Changing Perspectives, created between 2017 and 2022.

Chile is the world's leading copper exporter and the second-largest lithium producer. The diverse geography and geology of the Atacama Desert gives it a unique set of attributes, offering excellent solar and wind potential. Since 2017, when Stillings first photographed over the Atacama, the country has tripled its renewable energy capacity. New solar, wind, and storage projects supply electricity to the grid, transmit power to population centers in the South, provide electricity and solar thermal energy to mines, and reduce mining's dependence on fossil fuels. Chile's renewable energy development is now an example for other countries and mining operations worldwide, offering hope and inspiration. Thus, a growing dynamic between the extractive mining industry and the rapidly developing renewable energy sector makes the Atacama a compelling subject.

Jamey Stillings

Photographer Jamey Stillings is known for his aerial photography of renewable energy projects around the world. Having earned a BA in Art from Willamette University and an MFA in Photography from Rochester Institute of Technology,  he has a passionate curiosity about people, cultures, technology, and the environment. Stillings' work spans fine art, documentary, and commissioned projects, all of which encourage collaboration and are open to unexpected opportunities. Increasingly, Stillings seeks projects that provide the occasion to study a subject in depth. This may be realized by documenting the evolution of a subject for years or by recording the intensity of a single day. Yet, within a diverse range of photographic interests, his personal project work focuses on issues of sustainability, and in particular, renewable energy.