Grenergy approaches $1bn finance for Chile’s Oasis de Atacama site

Spanish solar and energy storage developer Grenergy has secured an additional $324 million dollars for the Oasis de Atacama solar-plus-battery megaproject in Chile.

Grenergy has secured new green finance for the “Gabriela” fourth phase of the seven-stage project it has described as “the largest of its kind in the world.”

Funding for the 1.1 GWh energy storage and 269 MW of solar generation fourth phase will come from BNP Paribas, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, Société Générale, The Bank of Nova Scotia, and SMBC.

The five international banks financed the first three phases of Oasis de Atacama, for $643 million. Loan syndication for the first phase also included BofA, BBVA, and Bank of China.

In December 2024, Grenergy announced the sale of the first three phases of Oasis de Atacama, which make up 23% of the overall project, to KKR subsidiary ContourGlobal for up to $962 million. In September 2024, the developer had announced the final solar generation capacity of the project would double to 2 GW, and the site’s energy storage capacity would rise to 11 GWh, from 4.1 GWh. That expanded scope was thanks to plans for Grenergy to purchase a 1 GW portfolio of solar sites and to invest $128 million into the operation of a 1 GW interconnection transmission line built by Repsol and Iberéolica.

Grenergy has achieved its 2026 asset turnover target two years early and secured finance for the remainder of the Oasis de Atacama project, as well as other investments in its 2023-2026 strategic plan.

“We want to continue developing this successful model in Chile and replicate it in other markets in Latin America, Europe, and the United States in the coming years,” said David Ruiz de Andrés, executive president and CEO of Grenergy.

Construction of the Oasis de Atacama project began in November 2023. The first phase was scheduled to be connected in 2024 with the later stages due in 2026. Grenergy has secured offtake agreements for the energy from the first four phases of the site and has said it is in advanced negotiations to sell power from the remainder of the project.

Ingeteam will supply inverters and transformer centers to the project and Grenergy has signed a 3 GWh supply deal with BYD for the project’s large-scale energy storage systems, the largest deal secured by the Chinese company to date. The 537 battery containers are set to begin arriving before July 2025 and to be operational during the year.

From pv magazine España.