Atlas Renewable Energy opens 800MWh BESS in Chile
Image courtesy Atlas Renewable Energy
Renewable energy company Atlas Renewable Energy has inaugurated its del Desierto battery energy storage system (BESS) in Chile, which they are calling one of the largest energy storage systems in Latin America.
The BESS is located in Chile’s Antofagasta region and has an installed capacity of 200MW/4 hours and storage capacity of 800MWh.
The project, developed in partnership with COPEC, a Chilean energy and forestry company, through Atlas’ energy trading arm EMOAC, will store excess solar energy generated during the day and redistribute it during peak consumption hours. In this way, says Atlas in a release, the project will increase the energy grid’s stability while reducing the need for renewable energy curtailment.
Commenting in a release was Carlos Barrera, co-founder and CEO of Atlas Renewable Energy: “Looking ahead, you do not have to choose between sustainability and reliability.
“As BESS del Desierto proves, we can have both. And Latin America, with its abundance of resources, with its ingenuity, is in a position to be a leader in this transformation globally.”
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Alfredo Solar, regional manager of Chile & the Southern Cone for Atlas Renewable Energy, added: “BESS del Desierto is undoubtedly a milestone for Atlas, Chile, and for all of Latin America, but it is not unique in Atlas’ portfolio.
“We have multiple megaprojects in various stages of development, all of them using energy storage systems. This demonstrates the leadership Atlas has cultivated in this space, and we are very proud to see the fruits of our efforts with BESS del Desierto.”
Atlas says they are preparing to use the experience gained in Chile as a reference for future implementation of battery storage in other countries in the region, including Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.
Said Barrera: “At Atlas, we don’t see this project as the finish line,.
“This is a starting point. The challenge is no longer to prove that renewables work – it’s to prove that we can deploy them at the speed our world demands. BESS del Desierto shows that this is possible.”
A renewable energy generation company, Atlas Renewable Energy has an asset base of more than 8.4GW, of which 2.5GW are in advanced development stages ready to be contracted, and about 3.6GW are operational.
The company recently closed $510 million financing for its Estepa project, marking the company’s largest financing deal in its history. A hybrid solar photovoltaic and battery storage project, Estepa is supported by two long-term power purchase agreements signed with Codelco and Colbun, key players in Chile’s mining and energy sector.
