The PFV Las Salinas stages 1, 2 and 3, which totals 205 MW, will operate jointly with the 112 MW Sierra Gorda Este wind farm and will be the largest industrial-scale hybrid renewable generation center in the country, according to Enel ..read more

Madrid-headquartered independent power producer (IPP) Grenergy has reached financial close on the first two phases of its Oasis de Atacama solar and battery energy storage hybrid project in Chile. From ESS News Spanish IPP Grenergy has achieved the financial close of phase 1 and 2 of its Oasis de Atacama project in Chile, which will eventually feature the world’s largest battery energy storage system. With a capacity of 4.1 GWh in storage and about 1 GW of solar, Oasis the Atacama is divided into five phases. Currently under construction, the Quillagua connection – phase 1 – is scheduled to ge ..read more

Colombia, Brazil, and Chile lead the hydrogen market in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to new data presented by Hinicio and New Energy at the recent 4th Hydrogen Congress for Latin America and the Caribbean (H2LAC 2024). From pv magazine LatAm Hinicio and New Energy presented the H2LAC Index at H2LAC 2024 earlier this month. The figures show that Chile, Brazil, and Colombia lead the hydrogen market in Latin America and the Caribbean, in that order. Brazil has displaced Colombia for second place, while Chile retains its lead. The index analyzes the development of the region's sector ..read more

Chilean utility Colbún has unveiled plans for a massive pumped storage hydropower project in northern Chile. The facility will use desalinated water from the Pacific Ocean to store energy and use it when it’s most needed. From pv magazine ESS News site Pumped hydro (PHES) has long been the dominant energy storage technology wordwide, but today’s rapidly growing battery energy storage fleet looks set to overtake the throne. According to some industry indsiders, the switch at the top in terms of gigawatts of power installed is likely to already happen next year as batteries become as mature and ..read more

Three utility scale battery energy storage projects co-located with solar plants were announced last week in Chile. Enel is building a 67 MW/134 MWh battery, while CJR Renewable and Uriel Renovables are planning 200 MW/800 MWh and 90 MW/200 MWh projects, respectively. From pv magazine EES News site three different developers announced separate large-scale battery energy storage (BESS) projects collocated with solar farms in Chile. Enel Chile, the local subsidiary of Italian energy company Enel, said it will deploy a 67 MW/134 MWh battery at the El Manzano solar power plant. The solar project w ..read more

The European Commission has selected the winners of European Hydrogen Bank's first auction, with bids coming in below €0.50 ($0.54)/kg, while Chile and Namibia have revealed new hydrogen plans. The European Commission has awarded €720 million to seven renewable hydrogen projects in Europe, selected through the first competitive bidding process under the European Hydrogen Bank. The seven projects were the winners of an oversubscribed auction that attracted 132 bids in total. Together, the winning bidders plan to produce 1.58 million metric tons of renewable hydrogen over 10 ..read more

The Atacama Desert in Argentina and Chile is the sunniest region on earth. Despite the excellent solar radiation resource availability and plenty of room on rooftops and on the ground, solar PV is not as widespread in either country as would have been expected based on the initial deployment of large-scale PV power plants in both countries some ten years ago. With annual irradiation levels over 2,700 kWh/m2/year, the Atacama Desert in Argentina and Chile is the sunniest area on the planet. Around ten years ago, the first utility-scale, multi-MW PV projects started in both countries, and expect ..read more

Engie has deployed a 139 MW/638 MWh battery in northern Chile. The storage project is connected to the 181.2 MW Coya solar plant in the Antofagasta region. Engie Chile, the Chilean unit of French energy giant Engie, said it has finalized the construction of a 139 MW/638 MWh battery. It claimed it is the largest energy storage system to be installed in Latin America. The storage facility is connected to the 181.2 MW Coya PV plant, in Maira Elena, in northern Chile's Antofagasta region, which has one of the world's highest levels of solar radiation. Engie announced the project in December 2022 ..read more

Chile's cumulative installed PV capacity reached 8.5 GW at the end of December 2023, on 1.65 GW of new projects for the year. The cumulative PV total represents 25.6% of the nation's total power generation capacity. From pv magazine Latam Chile deployed 1.652 MW of new PV systems in 2023, according to new statistics from Acesol, the Chilean PV association. The country's cumulative installed solar capacity reached 8.5 GW as of the end of December 2023, which represents around 25.6% of its total power generation capacity. Acesol also said that around 2,941 MW of the total PV capacity comes from ..read more

Colbún, Atlas Renewable Energy, and Innergex were the winners of National Copper Corporation of Chile's (Codelco) latest procurement exercise. They secured 15-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) to supply clean power from 2026. From pv magazine LatAm Codelco has announced the results of its latest public auction for renewable energy procurement. The company said that more than 50 national and international companies participated in the procurement exercise, assigning a total of 1.8 TWh/year. The winners of the auction were Atlas Renewable Energy, Chilean electricity company Colbún and Canada ..read more