Chile announce their first ever solar and storage project

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 The use of solar energy is gaining pace around the world, with countries such as China, Japan and the US seemingly announcing solar projects on a weekly basis. Any solar installation that will make a positive environmental impact is great to see, but it's particularly notable when it’s an emerging solar nation taking their first significant steps towards utilising solar energy within their borders.

That’s why the recent project unveiled in Chile came as a particularly enjoyable piece of news, particularly as it will not only be Chile’s first major solar storage project, but it is also likely to be the largest in Latin America so far. The project, established by AES Gener, is a 112MW / 560MWh battery storage project which will be storing energy generated from local solar and wind facilities.


Spanning much of the length of South America from its position on the west coast of the continent, Chile offers a variety of locations that could be ideal for solar projects, so with increasingly more affordable solar battery cost, we’d hope that this would be the first of many major installations if it proves to be a success.

AES Gener, which is a local subsidiary of the multinational power generation and distribution firm AES Corporation, is going to be leading the project, which will be a complement to the nearby 253MW of renewable energy generation. The centrepiece of this nearby renewable energy hub is the 180MW Andes Solar II B project, which is currently being constructed in the Antofagasta area of Chile. 

The project is being supported by AES-Siemens’ joint venture company Fluence, which will be providing its Sunstack battery storage systems as a key element of the project. In terms of panels, the project will be using 10MW of modular prefabricated solar PV panels alongside 170MW of bifacial solar PV panels. 

These panels are a similar type to that which AES Gener has already deployed in the recent 80MW Andes Solar II A project, with this project already in the midst of construction. The solar batteries will be located on mountain ranges in Antofagasta, within the Atacama Desert, which enjoys high solar irradiance even at fairly low temperatures. All of the solar energy that is generated and stored is planned to be utilised within the national electricity system.


Overall, the project sounds like a winner for the people of Chile in both economic and environmental terms. Hopefully the first of many in the country.


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