The government of Chile will launch a bill this year to procure large-scale energy storage systems for commissioning in 2026 totalling US$2 billion of investment, on top of 5GWh already being sought for 2027-28.
Speaking to the country’s parliament last week, president Gabriel Boric said the new bill would lead to the deployment of the energy storage resources needed to integrate the country’s growing renewable energy pipeline.
“Chile is one of the main producers of renewable energy in the world and today the challenge we have is to be able to store all that solar and wind energy and also to establish the corresponding transmission lines which is a fundamental step to achieve carbon neutrality before 2050,” he said.
“To achieve this, this year we will launch a bill that requires energy storage systems at large scale which will start operations in 2026. It will be the largest such project in Latin America, with an investment of US$2 billion and it will be in the Atacama desert.”
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His speech came just a few weeks after the Comisión Nacional de Energia (CNE) issued preliminary bidding information for a procurement of 5,400MWh of “energy storage and non-variable renewable energies”.
The tender will be split into two blocks of 1,800 MWh for 2027 delivery and another 3,600MWh for 2028 delivery. The projects would provide energy to the National Electricity System under 20-year agreements.
Chile already passed a bill late last year to make it easier for large-scale energy storage to participate in the country’s electricity market (as well as incentives for EV adoption).
In the months following, large-scale projects from AES Chile, oEnergy, Fotowatio Renewable Ventures and Engie Chile totalling over 4GWh have progressed while local utility Colbun inaugurated the first of an 800MW storage pipeline.
Most projects are being planned in the northern Atacama Desert region, often described as the ‘sunniest place in the world’, to be co-located with Chile’s growing solar PV resources.
Read the CNE’s announcement about the 5,400MWh tender here (in Spanish).
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.
