Chile

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.

Chilean researchers from Universidad Mayor say that the 10.8 MW La Colonia photovoltaic plant, built by IM2 Solar Chile and Enel Green Power, provides a habitat for birds.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric complained that the solar array installed on a military base in Argentine Patagonia were located three meters inside Chilean territory. “They must remove those solar panels as soon as possible or we are going to do it,” he warned. The Argentine government recognized the error.

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).

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.