ACCIONA Energía has announced the construction of a new 1GWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Chile’s Atacama Desert, doubling its planned energy storage capacity in the country.

The new facility, which will be integrated into El Romero photovoltaic plant (246MWp), will have a capacity of 196MW/980MWh and will be able to supply 196MW of clean energy for five consecutive hours. Commercial operations are expected to begin by the end of 2027.

This new system follows the 1GWh storage project that ACCIONA Energía announced at the end of last year at the Malgarida solar complex (238MWp), which is currently under construction, and reinforces the company’s commitment to deploying large-scale energy storage in the country.

Both projects will help optimize renewable energy management, improve grid stability and strengthen security of supply within the local electricity system.

With these two new projects, ACCIONA Energía will further expand its installed capacity in Chile, where it already operates a total of 922MW across three wind farms: Punta Palmeras (45MW), San Gabriel (183MW) and Tolpán Sur (84MW); and four photovoltaic plants: El Romero (246MWp), Malgarida (238MWp), Usya (64MWp) and Almeyda (62MWp).