Utility and independent power producer (IPP) Engie has started commercial operations of its 48MW/264MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) Capricornio project in the northern region of Antofagasta, Chile.
This is the company’s fourth operational BESS project in the country in the company after Arica (with a 2MW/2MWh capacity and operational since 2019), Coya (139MW/638MWh in March 2024) and Tamaya (68MW/418MWh) in October 2024. Engie invested US$73 million in the construction of its fourth operational BESS project in Chile which is co-located with the 87.9MW solar PV plant of the same name.
Similarly to the two projects brought online in 2024, a spokesperson for Engie told Energy-Storage.News that the batteries were provided by inverter and battery storage technology supplier Sungrow. In total, the project has 96 containers installed and batteries with a 5-hour duration.
The BESS market in Chile has been growing very quickly, so much so that in April, the country was one of the leading markets driving global BESS deployments (Premium access). That same month, Chile passed 1GW of operational BESS, according to Energy Minister Diego Pardow, after the operational launch of Atlas Renewable Energy’s standalone 200MW/800MWh BESS project in April this year.
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“This type of solution enables a greater penetration of renewable energy generation projects and provides greater flexibility to the electrical system. Moreover, as Engie Group, we already have 5GW of storage capacity in operation and under construction globally,” said Juan Villavicencio, Managing Director Renewables and Batteries de ENGIE Chile.
Villavicencio added that the project is part of the company’s target to reach 3.5GW of operational capacity by 2027, of which more than 60% will come from renewables and energy storage.
Engie’s energy storage portfolio in Chile includes several other BESS projects currently under construction and targeted to be commissioned before the end of 2026. The projects are located in different regions of Chile, with one in the Metropolitan Region (Libélula) with a BESS capacity of 199MW/995MWh, one in the northern region of Atacama (BESS Los Loros) with a 46MW BESS output and two in the northern region of Antofagasta (Lile and BESS Tocopilla) with 140MW and 116MW BESS output respectively.
Returning for a fourth edition in Santiago, Chile, the Energy Storage Summit Latin America will explore opportunities in countries such as Chile, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Join Solar Media on October 14-15 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 growing storage landscape in Latin America.
