Chile roundup: Energy storage regulations, energy transition bill

Energy storage

A Chilean energy storage regulation has entered the statute books after being published in the government’s official gazette.

Known as decree No. 70, the document establishes rules for capacity transfers.

Last week the office of the comptroller general had greenlit the decree.

The decree is expected to help unlock more investment in energy storage systems, especially in standalone plants, by boosting revenue flow visibility, which should help developers get financing.   

Among various articles is one that establishes capacity calculation rules that will be in force for 10 years and which allocate recognition percentage based on system storage duration. This ranges from 0% recognition for systems under one hour to 100% recognition for systems of five hours or more.

Chile’s energy storage sector is gaining traction. As things stand, the country could have at least 2.57GW of capacity in 2026. 

ALSO READ: German industrial giant eyeing Chile’s long-duration battery segment

See the decree in the Documents box in the top-right corner.

Energy transition bill

The Chilean government’s energy transition bill has advanced in congress.

The senate’s energy committee greenlit a series of amendments, including one concerning the redistribution of congestion revenues.

The executive branch committed to continue evaluating potential amendments, the energy ministry said in a statement.  

Redistribution of congestion revenues was introduced in the original bill to help provide financial support for clean energy generators impacted unfavorably on the spot market. 

In previous sessions, lawmakers had approved other tweaks, including amendments regarding transmission infrastructure development in regions such as Ñuble. An investment focus is deemed necessary on some zonal transmission systems, to help bolster supply to industry, among other goals.

The bill, designed to create conditions necessary to support decarbonization, now goes to the senate’s finance committee. 

A bill measure to establish an energy storage auction was scrapped last month after a 2026 capacity target of 2GW was reached.