Engie Chile seeks enviro permit for large-scale wind, BESS hybrid

Chilean power company Engie Energia Chile SA is seeking an environmental permit to build a 336.6-MW wind farm with a battery energy storage system (BESS) in the region of Antofagasta, northern Chile.

The proposal is part of the Pampa Fidelia project, for which the company secured land in a tender process held by the Chilean ministry of national assets last year.

Pampa Fidelia will be a hybrid generation complex in the commune of Taltal consisting of 51 wind turbines of 6.6 MW each and a BESS of 291.2 MW/873.6 MWh with a capacity to store energy for three hours. The storage park will be made up of 208 containers, Engie Energia said in the environmental impact statement (EIS).

According to the publicly available document, which was filed on Friday, the utility company plans to invest around USD 645 million (EUR 629.3m) in the project and begin construction in the second half of 2024.

Back in June 2021, Engie Energia was awarded concessions to use two sites in the region, Pampa Yolanda and Pampa Fidelia, for the development of around 1,500 MW of renewables capacity. At the time, the company's plan was to hybridise wind, solar and batteries within the same site.

Later in 2021, Engie Energia secured the environmental permit for the 353.4-MW Lomas de Taltal wind power project. This project, Pampa Yolanda and Pampa Fidelia will enable the company to form an energy hub in the Taltal commune.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.976)

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