Engie Chile, a subsidiary of French electric utility Engie SA (EPA:ENGI), has announced the commencement of construction for its fourth battery energy storage system (BESS) in Chile. The new project is set to be integrated into the 88-megawatt Capricornio solar farm located in the Antofagasta region.
The Capricornio BESS is designed with a capacity of 48 megawatts and storage of 264 megawatt-hours. Comprising 96 containers, the system will store electricity generated by the Capricornio solar farm for up to five hours. Engie Chile anticipates the commercial operation of the BESS to commence in the first half of 2025.
As of now, Engie Chile's only operational BESS is a pilot storage system with a capacity of 2 megawatts/2 megawatt-hours located in the Arica region. The company has two additional BESS projects in progress, namely BESS Coya with a capacity of 638 megawatt-hours and BESS Tamaya with a capacity of 418 megawatt-hours, both coupled with solar facilities.
The installation of all batteries at BESS Coya is complete, and Engie Chile is awaiting the commencement of commercial operations. Juan Villavicencio, Managing Director Renewable at Engie Chile, highlighted that with the operationalization of BESS Coya, BESS Tamaya, and BESS Capricornio, the company will possess a cumulative storage capacity exceeding 1.1 gigawatt-hours per day.
