Spotlight: The 11.6GWh Chile energy storage projects poised to secure govt land

Six standalone energy storage projects involving combined capacity of 11.6GWh are advancing in a Chilean government land assignation process.

Authorities are offering the private sector concessions to use acreage in six geographic areas, known as macrozones, of the country for the installation of plants.

The objective of the plan is to promote the assignation of acreage for the “development, construction and operation of storage systems, of the standalone kind, on government land, designed to be connected to a national electricity system substation, that is located in the zones identified by the national electricity coordinator [CEN] as areas with storage needs from 2026,” a resolution published earlier this year states.

Companies submitted 117 projects via an online platform set up the ministry of national assets. Of the total, 111 were accepted for processing and transferred to the energy ministry for technical analysis.

Officials whittled the number down to six, each corresponding to a different zone, basing decisions on project capacity proposed and storage capacity requirements established.

CEN has estimated that 1-4GW with injection duration of 6-8 horas is the optimum level for 2026-30.

The next phase involves further analysis at the regional and national level, with contract signing penciled in for November 2025.

The private sector has already built, or has committed to build, 2GW through 2026. Research published by CEN indicated that 2GW of batteries installed by the end of 2026 would provide optimal economic benefits – of US$513mn – and help fine-tune requirements through 2032. 

Maximum capacity sought

Zone 1: 3.6GWh
Zone 2: 3.2GWh
Zone 3: 0.6GWh
Zone 4: 1.8GWh
Zone 5: 2.4GWh
 Zone 6: 1.6GWh

Required investment could reach several billion dollars. A 2023 report from CEN estimated that required outlay for all 13.2GWh would be around US$3.2bn. The cost of battery storage systems, however, has been trending down.

Projects advancing

Zone 1

Substation: Nueva Lagunas
Applicant: Konavle
Project: BESS Boreal
Capacity proposed: 2,000MWh
Capacity of zone: 2,000MWh
 Storage hours: Not disclosed

Zone 2

Substation: Kimal
Applicant: La Pastora Energía
Project: Kimal Sur
Capacity proposed: 3,200MWh
Capacity of zone: 3,200MWh
 Storage hours: 12.8

Zone 3

Substation: Andes (AES)
Applicant: FreePower Group
Project: SAE FPG Andes 2
Capacity proposed: 600MWh
Capacity of zone: 600MWh
 Storage hours: 8.5

Zone 4

Substation: Monte Mina
Applicant: La Pastora Energía
Project: Monte Mina
Capacity proposed: 1,800MWh
Capacity of zone: 1,800MWh
 Storage hours: 12

Zone 5

Substation: Cumbre
Applicant: Jinko Power Chile III
Project: BESS Amanecer Nueva Energía 3
Capacity proposed: 2,400MWh
Capacity of zone: 2,400MWh
 Storage hours: Not disclosed

Zone 6

Substation: Agrosuper
Applicant: FreePower Group
Project: SAE FPG Agrosuper 2
Capacity proposed: 1,600MWh
Capacity of zone: 1,600MWh
 Storage hours: 6.8

Energy storage is deemed necessary to help mitigate the intermittency of variable output renewables plants, in that way supporting greater penetration and the country's wider decarbonization push. 

Around 450MW of energy storage capacity is operating, according to May data from renewables and storage association Acera. Of the total, 54MW is standalone.

Around 1.16GW is under construction, all battery and all linked to a renewables plant, with the exception of a 1MW standalone storage unit being built. 

According to Acera, 6.67GW of storage capacity is under environmental review, all battery. Of the total, 1.53GW is standalone, with the balance being plants linked to renewables farms.

Storage projects totaling 2.8GW have the environmental green light, with no standalone battery storage projects among them. 

In terms of other technologies, a 560MW molten salt project, AES Andes' Alba, and a 50MW liquid air storage system proposed by Highview Enlasa, have environmental licenses.