Building a $400-million (£263 million) hydroelectric power plant in the world's driest desert may seem like engineering folly, but Chile sees it as a revolutionary way to generate green energy.

The plan will take advantage of the Atacama Desert's unique geography to solve one of the key problems of renewable energies like solar and wind power - inconsistency.

The sun is not always shining and the wind is not always blowing, but in long and narrow Chile, there are always mountains next to the sea.

Building a $400-million (£263 million) hydroelectric power plant in the world's most arid desert (pictured) may seem like engineering folly, but Chile sees it as a revolutionary way to generate green energy. A stock image of the Atacama Desert is pictured above

Chilean energy company Valhalla wants to use solar power to pump water from the Pacific Ocean into two reservoirs high in the Andes Mountains.

The water will be allowed to rush back down into a hydroelectric plant with a capacity of 300 megawatts - enough to power three provinces in Chile.

Chile currently imports more energy than it produces and mainly relies on fossil fuels.

'This is the only place in the world where a project of this kind can be developed,' said Francisco Torrealba, the company's strategy manager.

Chilean energy company Valhalla wants to use solar power to pump water from the Pacific Ocean into two reservoirs high in the Andes Mountains (pictured from space). The water will be allowed to rush back down into a hydroelectric plant with a capacity of 300 megawatts - enough to power three provinces in Chile

WHAT IS HYDROPOWER? Hydropower is power derived from the energy of falling water or fast running water. It's been used since ancient times in the form of windmills, but in the 19th century was first used to generate electricity. A turbine converts the kinetic energy of the falling water into mechanical energy. Then a generatos converts the mechanical energy from the turbine into electrical energy. The first commercial hydroelectric power plant was built at Niagara Falls in 1879 and the electricity used to power local streetlights. The Three Gorges Dam in China is probably one of the most famous examples. The hydroelectric dam is the world's largest power station by installed capacity. Advertisement

The two mountaintop reservoirs will hold as much water as approximately 22,000 Olympic swimming pools -enough to generate electricity around the clock.

'The technology has been super well tested around the world. It's this particular combination that has never been tried,' Mr Torrealba said.

The plant got the green light from environmental authorities last week.

Valhalla is seeking investors and hopes to break ground in late 2016, with an estimated construction timeline of three and a half years.

It is also studying three other areas with similar characteristics.

Chile is among a group of countries in a 'high ambition coalition' at the COP 21 climate talks in Paris.

The coalition includes some of the world's poorest and most vulnerable countries as well as the US, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Iceland and Norway, and is calling for a strong climate deal.

Marshall Islands foreign minister Tony de Brum is the driving force behind the coalition.

Hydropower is power derived from the energy of falling water or fast running water. One of the most famous hydroelectric power plants is the Three Gorges Dam in China (pictured above)

Valhalla is seeking investors and hopes to break ground in late 2016, with an estimated construction timeline of three and a half years. This stunning image shows hikers walking the salty shore of Laguna de Tuyajito at 10,000 feet (3,048 metres) in the Atacama Desert

He said: 'We have fought many battles in our lives relating to the survival of our people and for justice.

'This one is a very special one and none of the countries that are here, developed or developing, can go home without one that has the ambition we all came to fight for.

He said ministers would work through the night to protect ambition in the deal, including the stringent 1.5ºC (34.7ºF) goal and to ensure the world achieves decarbonisation of the economy.