Since ENGIE Chile announced its transformation plan, it has set the goal of reconverting part of its land, opening the way to new sources of renewable energy generation and, at the same time, developing technologies that provide greater security to the system.
This is how in February 2022, commercial operation of the Tamaya Solar Plant (114 MWac) began, located next to the company's former diesel plant in the commune of Tocopilla, Antofagasta region. And now, taking a new step in the energy transition, it announced that the construction of a storage system based on the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) called “BESS Tamaya” has already begun.
The project will be able to store 418 MWh of energy daily with an installed capacity of 68 MW - more than 5 hours of storage at the beginning of its useful life - through 152 containers that, thanks to a solution based on lithium batteries and integrated by the company Sungrow Power Supply, will receive the energy generated by the photovoltaic solar park. This will make the system more efficient and allow renewable energy to be supplied during peak demand hours.
“ These solutions are key to serving our decarbonization plan, given that BESS Tamaya will mean a reduction in emissions of 42,187 tons of CO2 per year, which is equivalent to removing approximately 14,500 conventional combustion vehicles from circulation. We believe that storage systems are a fundamental pillar of our ESG commitment, and that is why we will continue to develop this technology ,” said Rosaline Corinthien, CEO of ENGIE Chile.
BESS Tamaya, whose construction began during the first week of August, joins the portfolio of projects and sites in operation based on ENGIE Chile storage systems. Currently, the company is building one of the largest initiatives in Latin America called “BESS Coya”, which will have a storage capacity of 638 MWh; and in 2018 it was a pioneer in the country by installing “BESS Arica” (2 MWh) in one of the company's substations in the north of the country. At the end of the construction of BESS Tamaya, ENGIE will have a storage capacity of more than 1GWh.
