Developer Atlas Renewable Energy has inaugurated the 800 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) plant in María Elena commune, in the Antofagasta region.
Chile Energy Minister Diego Pardow was present at the inauguration of the 200 MW/800 MWh BESS del Desierto, a project its developers describe as the first large-scale standalone energy storage plant in Latin America.
The project features PowerTitan liquid cooling and control systems from Chinese battery manufacturer Sungrow. Developer Atlas Renewable Energy says its project can provide almost 2,500 electric buses with 500,000 km of range.
Atlas estimates the 320 batteries on the more-than-three-hectare site will deliver more than 280 GWh per year of clean power to the grid, reducing the volume of renewable energy curtailed in northern Chile because of a lack of grid capacity.
The nation currently curtails almost 3 TWh of electricity annually, around 1.4 TWh of it solar power.
Construction of BESS del Desierto began last year and involved 200 workers from its María Elena commune and Tocopilla province as well as the city of Calama. A quarter of the construction workers at the project, on the grounds of the 244 MWp Sol del Desierto solar plant, were women. The solar site has been operating since 2022.
The project, in the Antofagasta region, is backed by a 15-year power purchase agreement signed by the EMOAC energy trading subsidiary of Chilean oil company COPEC. Part of the electricity provided by the site will reach 27 electric bus public transport terminals.
ess-news.com
