ContourGlobal CEO Antonio Cammisecra and Energy Undersecretary Luis Felipe Ramos, along with National Electricity Coordinating Board President Juan Carlos Olmedo and local authorities and representatives of the electricity sector, this week celebrated the commissioning of the Quillagua power plant, in the municipality of María Elena, Antofagasta region.

Quillagua is a 221 MWp solar photovoltaic plant with a 1.2 GWh battery storage system capable of delivering 200 MW for 6.2 hours after sunset, making it the largest solar plant in Latin America combined with a battery storage system.

This milestone marks the final stage before commercial operations are expected to begin in the coming weeks and the start of implementation of the long-term Clean Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), which ensures the supply of solar power at night and the distribution of any excess production to the commercial market.

" We are proud to start operations in Quillagua months ahead of schedule and to make solar energy available even at night, as well as to share this moment with partners, the community, institutions and local authorities ," said Antonio Cammisecra, Global CEO of ContourGlobal.

Regarding the integration of long-life batteries, Cammisecra stressed: " This is a fundamental step to stabilize the grid, address the challenges of oversupply and daytime peak demand. We are deeply committed to this country and, in addition to storage, we are also exploring opportunities in wind energy, diversifying our technological approach to respond to Chile's dynamic energy needs ."

Quillagua is part of a larger project that includes another similar plant in the Tarapacá region; this is the Victor Jara plant, which will have a photovoltaic solar production of 231 MWp and 1.3 GWh of battery storage. It will be completed in the second half of the year, several months ahead of the initial plans.

ContourGlobal acquired both projects, which have a combined capacity of 452 MWp of solar and 2.5 GWh of battery storage, from Grenergy late last year, marking the entry of the US company, part of KKR Group, into Chile. Once fully operational, this portfolio will generate energy of approximately 1,300 GWh per year and will position ContourGlobal as a key player in the renewables sector in Chile, a country in which the company aims to expand and invest.

The inauguration consolidates Chile's pioneering role in harnessing the potential of the sun, in its regions and the Atacama Desert, for the development of energy storage systems (BESS) for long-term projects in this sector. This is a milestone in the energy transition of Chile and Latin America, in line with the rapid global expansion of battery storage, which, according to the IEA (International Energy Agency), reached 70 GW in 2024; and in addition, the combination of solar photovoltaic and storage is already surpassing other forms of generation in terms of competitiveness, and is consolidating itself as the technology of the future for a more flexible and affordable energy supply.

The implementation of this ambitious solar energy project has led to the creation of 313 direct jobs, with workers of six nationalities, and 176 indirect jobs, and for its continued operation has also required the installation of over 452,000 solar panels, 5,000 solar trackers, 267 storage modules, 44 transformer stations and 90 inverters, ensuring the creation of approximately 20 permanent jobs.

During the inauguration, Chilean Undersecretary of Energy Luis Felipe Ramos reiterated the country's energy transition objectives, highlighting the contribution of the Quillagua project to achieving the national objective: 2 GW of storage capacity by 2030 and 6 GW by 2050.

 

Source: businesswire.com

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