AES Andes switches on Solar IV park, 650 MWh battery storage in Chile

The AES Andes business of US-based utility AES Corp. has announced commercial operation of its Andes Solar IV solar-plus-storage site, in Chile.

The project, which features 130 MW/650 MWh of lithium-ion battery storage alongside 211 MW of solar generation capacity is in the commune of Calama, in the Atacama Desert, Antofagasta.

Referring to a wider, regional portfolio, AES Andes chief executive Javier Dib said, “Today our renewables hub in Antofagasta has the largest system in Latin America, combining 667 MW of solar energy with 259 MW of batteries.”

Andes Solar IV features 388,584 LR5-72HBD solar panels from Longi, according to the Maximum Power Report published by Aes Andes in September 2024. The site also hosts 54 GPTech MP2M2.3WD3-3L-V850 inverters, with a nominal capacity of 2.65 MVA and a nominal operating voltage of 850 V.

The developer claims to have 572 MW of renewables capacity under construction in Chile as part of a drive for more than 1.6 GW of batteries in the nation by 2027.

Wider portfolio

AES Andes stated, “In September [2024], the company also announced the entry into environmental processing of three new projects that together include an installed capacity of more than 1,700 MW of photovoltaic power and 2,400 MW of batteries.”

The most recent of those projects submitted for environmental assessment was the Solar Oriente project, of 581.46 MWp photovoltaic with a BESS of up to 809.22 MW, in the Tarapacá region.

In Antofagasta, AES Andes is promoting the Altos del Sol project, which is under evaluation and includes a 763.6 MW photovoltaic park with a 1,063.4 MW BESS.

The developer recently obtained environmental approval for the Pampas wind and solar-plus-storage project in the Antofagasta region, which proposes a wind farm with an installed generation capacity of 140 MW and a 252 MW photovoltaic park, plus a battery-based energy storage system with a capacity of 624 MW and a duration of up to five hours.

AES Andes has also obtained  environmental approval for the Cristales project, with 340 MW of photovoltaic generation capacity and storage of 542 MW for five hours, also in Antofagasta.

From pv magazine LatAm.