Zelestra secures $282m for Chile’s 1 GWh Aurora project

Zelestra has secured a $282 million finance package for the Aurora project, in the municipality of Pozo Almonte in Chile’s Tarapacá region. Zelestra said the funding agreement was reached with Natixis CIB and BNP Paribas, with a VAT credit line provided by BCI.

The site, which will combine a 220 MW solar plant with a 1 GWh BESS, holds a long-term power purchase agreement signed by Chilean liquefied natural gas business Abastible.

Zelestra is carrying out engineering, procurement, and construction of the site, which will supply an estimated 600 GWh of electricity annually, enough to power around 200,000 Chilean households.

Sungrow will supply PowerTitan 2.0 liquid-cooled batteries, solar modules, and medium-voltage power conversion units for Aurora.

COPEC subsidiary Abastible will use the electricity to diversify the energy it provides and will guarantee nighttime supply to its customers, which are chiefly small and medium-sized businesses. Abastible has expanded its electricity business in recent years and operates in Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador.

Zelestra claims a more-than-7 GW portfolio of Latin American sites including solar, wind, and energy storage projects at various stages of development. The company recently applied for an environmental permit for its $360 million, 248.7 MWp Monterrico Solar site, which would include a 200 MW/1.2 GWh energy storage system, in Chile’s Ñuble region.

Construction is underway at the Aurora site and battery unit deliveries are expected to begin in the fourth quarter.

Zelestra, backed by Swedish fund EQT, operates in 13 countries and manages a global portfolio of around 29 GW of what the company describes as “zero-carbon” projects, of which 5.4 GW are contracted, in operation, under construction, or in pre-construction.

From pv magazine LatAm.