Nine projects pairing solar or wind with energy storage submitted environmental impact assessments (EIAs) in Chile last month, totalling well over 2GWh of capacity, by companies including Engie, EDF and Sonnedix.
The projects are the latest in a flurry of renewable energy development activity in the country as it seeks to hit 70% renewable electricity generation by 2030, and come as our publisher Solar Media prepares to host the Energy Storage Summit Latin America in the capital Santiago next week (October 17-18).
The nine projects total US$1.7 billion of investment, 1,366MW of renewable energy generation and 2,027MWh of energy storage capacity at the very least, with two not revealing exact figures. Planned commercial operation dates (COD) for the projects are mostly between 2026 and 2027, with one set for 2030.
The largest among them is the Wayra Wind Farm project, being developed by the renewables arm of global utility EDF, EDF Renewables. It proposes combining wind and solar PV arrays into 557MW of generation with up to 750MWh of energy storage capacity, and is targeting a 2027 COD. A full table of the projects compiled by Energy-Storage.news is further down.
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The total energy storage capacity for the projects submitted in September is likely to be significantly higher than 2,027MWh as the two that did not provide figures are substantial: the 167MW Los Portones and 144MW Fenix Wind Farm projects, both combining wind and storage.
Fenix is also being developed by EDF Renewables, while Portones is from another French-headquartered multinational utility and independent power producer (IPP), Engie. The latter is already building a 418MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at an existing solar PV plant.
All projects would see the energy storage facility, mostly comprising BESS technology, shifting the generation into the evening and night using a shared interconnection point.
| Project name | Type | Generation (MW) | Energy storage (MWh) | Commercial operation | Investment amount (US$ millions) | Company |
| Carica Wind Park | Wind and storage | 92 | 400 | 2027 | 290 | Sonnedix |
| Solar Future | Solar and storage | 40 | 40 | 2026 | 75 | Energy Head |
| Los Portones | Wind and storage | 167 | n/a | 2030 | 250 | Engie Energia Chile |
| Wayra Wind Farm | Wind, solar and storage | 557 | 750 | 2027 | 623 | EDF Renewables |
| Ostolazas Photovoltaic Park | Solar and storage | 20 | 4 | 2025 | 12 | Trinergy |
| PFV Peuco | Solar and storage | 16 | 72 | 2025 | 60 | oEnergy |
| Fenix Wind Farm | Wind and storage | 144 | n/a | 2026 | 110 | EDF Renewables |
| Ritoque Solar Photovoltaic Park | Solar and storage | 100 | 89 | 2026 | 70 | Uriel Inversiones |
| Corinto Solar Photovoltaic Park | Solar and storage | 230.8 | 672 | 2027 | 200 | Corinto Solar Spa |
As part of its decarbonisation Chile is seeking multiple gigawatts of energy storage to be deployed by 2030, and passed a bill late last year to allow standalone projects to be remunerated in the country’s capacity market.
Most projects are nonetheless being paired with generation with huge opportunities to balance out peaks and troughs in generation available. Chile has the highest intraday spreads in the world, according to developer Flexen which recently discussed its 1GW standalone BESS projects with Energy-Storage.news.
Other multinational energy firms are highly active in the Chile market alongside EDF and Engie, with the Chile arm of US-headquartered AES recently turning Latin America’s largest BESS online while Italy-based Enel started building a 67MW BESS in August.
Returning for the second edition in Santiago, Chile, the Energy Storage Summit Latin America will explore opportunities in countries such as Chile, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
Join Solar Media on October 17-18 to meet with investors, policy makers, developers, utilities, network operators, technology providers, EPCs, consultants, law firms and more to make sure you are a part of the rapidly evolving storage landscape in Latin America.
