Atlas Renewable Energy closes $289 million in financing for its first standalone battery project

This is an automatic translation of the original release issued in Spanish

PRESS RELEASE from Atlas Renewable Energy
August 13, 2024

• Following this important agreement with the financial institutions BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole CIB , the company has managed to secure its first financing for standalone BESS batteries.
• This milestone will finance BESS del Desierto , one of the largest energy storage projects in the country and in Latin America, which was recently contracted by COPEC for its electricity supply.

Chile, August 13, 2024. Atlas Renewable Energy, a leading international renewable energy company, has closed a financing of US$289 million for the development and construction of the BESS storage project in the Desert with financial institutions BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank. This milestone marks a new precedent in the energy market and industry in the country and Latin America, becoming one of the first independent battery financings in Chile and the region.

In record time, Atlas managed to close the agreement with BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole CIB, two of the most active institutions in financing energy projects in Latin America. The total amount of the financing includes 219 million dollars in senior loans and 70 million dollars in other credit lines.

The agreement will finance BESS del Desierto, one of the largest energy storage projects in the country and in Latin America, with an installed capacity of 200 MW and four hours of discharge, and a storage capacity of 800 MWh, which will allow energy to be stored during times of abundant solar energy and reinjected into the grid during times of high demand. BESS del Desierto will have a storage capacity similar to that of some 2,500 electric urban public transport buses, and equivalent to more than 500,000 km of autonomy in said buses, or traveling more than 100 times around Chile.

The project will supply energy to EMOAC, following an important agreement signed between COPEC's energy trading subsidiary and Atlas, which -in turn- represented a milestone in itself, being one of the largest storage contracts in the country and the first large-scale standalone BESS project . The agreement contemplates reinjecting around 280 GWh annually into the grid, contributing to reducing the discharges of renewable energy generated during the day from solar photovoltaic sources, and allowing greater stability and reliability of the electricity supply in the region and the country.

The agreement with EMOAC, together with the award of supply to Codelco , announced in March of this year, with a new photovoltaic plant and a BESS storage system, projects an injection of 9.2 TWh of sustainable energy into the grid by Atlas during peak hours with an operating period of 15 years.

Alfredo Solar, Regional Manager for Chile and the Southern Cone at Atlas , said: “This achievement is a testament to our ongoing commitment to innovation and sustainability in the energy sector. Financing this project not only reinforces our leadership in Latin America, but also highlights our ability to forge alliances with prestigious financial institutions and execute large-scale projects that transform the region’s energy future.”

Atlas Renewable Energy is capitalized and supported by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a leading independent infrastructure fund manager with over $84 billion under management and a robust renewable energy portfolio of over 19 GW of operating and construction capacity worldwide.

Atlas has positioned itself as a leader among storage project development companies, demonstrating a solid capacity to establish collaborations with top-level organizations and companies. In addition, it reinforces its leadership at the forefront of energy transformation in Chile and Latin America, highlighting its crucial role in the implementation of cutting-edge technologies that strengthen the path towards a sustainable energy transition.