Chile: Engie energises 418MWh BESS, Canadian Solar wins turnkey contract for 312MWh project
In addition to being co-located with a solar PV plant, see picture above, the BESS project is located at a decommissioned diesel plant from the company.
The project started construction in August 2023 and is the latest energy storage project to be energised by Engie Chile in the region. In April this year, the utility started commercial operation of the 139MW/638MWh BESS Coya, also in Antofagasta. Similar to the Tamaya BESS project, the lithium batteries have a 5-hour duration and is paired with a solar PV plant.
The utility gave an update on another project that is currently progressing, which is the BESS Capricornio. The 48MW/264MWh energy storage project has installed all of its 96 battery containers. Like the other projects, it has a 5-hour duration and will be paired with a solar PV plant of the same name. The next phase in the construction of the project is the cold commissioning before energising it. However, the project has already provided over 4,000MWh of energy to the National Electricity System (SEN in Spanish).
Since Chile passed a major energy storage bill in late 2022, interest in the technology has continued to grow both from the private and public sectors. Earlier this month the Ministry of Energy opened a public land bidding auction seeking 13GWh of standalone energy storage projects. The programme aims to allocate capacity across four regions – Arica and Parinacota, Tarapaca, Antofagasta and Atacama.
Canadian Solar’s eStorage to supply a 98MW/312MWh DC BESS in Tarapacá region
Canadian Solar’s subsidiary eStorage has secured a turnkey engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the supply of a 98MW/312MWh DC BESS to the Huatacondo project in the northern Tarapacá region.
The project will be developed by Japanese companies Sojitz Corporation and Shikoku Electric Power, with construction scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2025.
Under the EPC contract, e-STORAGE will manage all civil, mechanical, and electrical infrastructure for the project and will provide its SolBank 3.0 energy storage solution for the project. The SolBank 3.0 energy storage solution features high-density LFP cells, advanced BMS and liquid cooling TMS. Its compact design boasts over 5MWh of capacity per 20-foot container, which optimises land use and cost reduction.
Colin Parkin, president of e-STORAGE, said: “We are pleased to extend our energy storage expertise through the delivery of our first major project in Chile, supporting the government’s ambitious goal of getting 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2050. This new BESS project in the Tarapacá Region of Chile expands our global portfolio, reinforcing our commitment to delivering reliable, high-performance energy solutions worldwide.”
Brazil tender set for June 2025
Elsewhere in Latin America, a few weeks after announcing an auction for battery energy storage projects, the Brazilian Minister of Energy and Mining gave more details regarding the auction.
On top of opening a public consultation (in Portuguese) that will be open until 28 October 2024, the Brazilian government unveiled that the auction will be taking place in June 2025.
Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 3rd annual Energy Storage Summit Latin America in Santiago, Chile, 15-16 October 2024. This year’s events bring together Latin America’s leading investors, policymakers, developers, utilities, network operators, EPCs and more all in one place to discuss the landscape of energy storage in the region. Visit the official site for more info.
