Chile approves plan to allocate public land for energy storage projects

From pv magazine LatAm

The Chilean government has approved a resolution to allocate public land for energy storage projects that will start operations in 2026.

The Promotion Plan for the Development of Storage Systems is expected to assign public land for projects with a total aggregate capacity of 13 GWh, distributed mainly in the country’s four northernmost regions: Arica y Parinacota, Tarapacá, Antofagasta and Atacama.

The plan was initially outlined in the “Study of Energy Storage in the National Electrical System,” presented earlier this year by the National Electrical Coordinator. It noted that “the optimal storage levels should be located mainly in the northern area of the SEN [National Electricity System], with capacities between 1,000 MW and 4,000 MW and with a duration of six to eight hours, in the period 2026-30.”

The National Electrical Coordinator noted that there is also an estimated initial investment of around $3.16 billion by 2026 “for a capacity of 2,000 MW or 13.2 GWh.”