AES Andes files EIA for wind, solar hybrid with 623-MW BESS in Chile

Chilean electric utility AES Andes on Monday submitted an environmental impact study (EIS) for a hybrid wind and solar power project collocated with a proposed 623.5-MW battery energy storage system (BESS).

It is an USD-800-million (EUR 750.8m) project located in the Taltal commune in the Chilean region of Antofagasta, where the company plans to build a 140-MW wind farm and a 252-MWp solar farm, each connected to its own BESS, AES Andes said in the publicly available EIS.

The project is named Pampas Hybrid.

The company plans to use 20 turbines of around 7 MW each for the wind farm and split the solar farm into two sections. The collocated batteries will be capable of storing electricity for up to five hours, AES Andes said.

The Pampas Hybrid project would occupy around 573.83 hectares (1,417 acres) of land, a surface that would include space for both temporary and permanent structures.

Construction of the wind farm and the solar farm is planned to be carried out simultaneously. AES Andes expects to begin works on the site in the first quarter of 2024.

AES Andes, part of US power company AES Corp (NYSE:AES), has included energy storage several times in its designs for wind and solar projects. AES and German technology group Siemens AG (ETR:SIE) are co-founders of energy storage specialist Fluence Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FLNC).

One of AES Andes' hybrid storage projects is Andes Solar II B, which features a 112-MW lithium-ion battery. What is planned for Pampas Hybrid will surpass the company's commitments made at COP26 in 2021 to install 188 MW of batteries in Chile in the coming years.

AES Andes also plans to use molten salts as a storage medium in its energy transition project at the Angamos coal-fired power plant in Chile.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.939)

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