Last week, three large-scale battery energy storage projects, co-located with solar plants, were announced in Chile. Enel is constructing a 67 MW/134 MWh battery, while CJR Renewable and Uriel Renovables are planning projects with capacities of 200 MW/800 MWh and 90 MW/200 MWh, respectively.
Three different developers have announced separate large-scale battery energy storage (BESS) projects co-located with solar farms in Chile. Enel Chile, the local subsidiary of the Italian energy company Enel, will deploy a 67 MW/134 MWh battery at the El Manzano solar power plant. This solar project, with a capacity of 99 MW, is located in Tiltil, Chacabuco Province, within the Santiago Metropolitan Region. The plant spans 185 hectares and features 162,000 bifacial monocrystalline panels, each with capacities of 615 W and 610 W.
In a separate press release, Portuguese EPC contractor CJR Renewable announced that it has been contracted by Ireland-based Atlas Renewable to construct a 200 MW/800 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS). The system will be paired with the 244 MW Sol del Desierto photovoltaic plant, which has been operational since 2022 and is located in the town of María Elena, Tocopilla Province, in the Antofagasta region.
CJR Renewables will serve as the main contractor for the civil and electrical works on the project, which will feature 320 battery units provided by Chinese manufacturer Sungrow. “With this project, we’ve reached 523 MW in BESS facilities in Chile,” said Raúl Pérez, business and development manager at CJR Renewables.
With 582,930 solar panels spread across 479 hectares, Sol del Desierto generates approximately 714 GWh annually. The photovoltaic plant operates under a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) between Atlas Renewable Energy and Engie Energía Chile, the Chilean subsidiary of French energy giant Engie, supplying 550 GWh of electricity each year.
In another development, Spanish developer Uriel Renovables announced it has obtained preliminary approval for the 90 MW Quinquimo solar farm, which will be co-located with a 90 MW/200 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS). Construction on this project is expected to begin in 2025, located 150 km north of Santiago de Chile in the Valparaíso Region.
From PV Magazine