AES Andes, part of the US-based energy giant AES, has launched construction on two hybrid renewables-plus-storage projects in Chile with 2.2GWh of co-located BESS.
Located in the northern region of Antofagasta, the Pampas and Cristales projects will combine solar PV, wind and energy storage.
The Pampas project will consist of 229MW of solar PV, 128MW of wind capacity and a 171MW battery energy storage system (BESS) with a 5-hour duration (adding up to 855MWh) according to the company’s project presentation.
The power rating of the BESS has been significantly reduced since last year, when the company received an Environmental Qualification Resolution in August 2024, as covered by Energy-storage.news. At the time, the project was expected to build a 5-hour duration BESS with a 624MW power output.
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The Cristales project will consist of 288MW of solar PV and a 340MW BESS with a 4-hour duration (adding up to 1,360MWh). Both projects will install bifacial modules with terrain-following trackers.
Combined, the projects will increase Chile’s installed renewable energy capacity by 1,3250MW with AES Andes investing more than US$1.1 billion between the two projects.
Commercial operations are expected to begin in 2027 for both projects.
The news comes as our publisher Solar Media prepares to host the fourth edition of the Energy Storage Summit Latin America on 14-15 October in Santiago, Chile
