Chile: Sphera Energy preps 300 MWh battery site, Prevalon Energy secures 310 MWh order

Chile’s Environmental Assessment Service (SEA) will evaluate plans for the construction and operation of the up to 60 MW/300 MWh Dorado Energy Storage System battery, planned on the edge of the urban area of ​​the Quinta de Tilcoco commune in Cachapoal province, in the Libertador General Bernardo O’Higgins region.

Documents submitted to the SEA by Chilean developer Sphera Energy indicate the battery energy storage system (BESS) will have an investment value of $45 million.

The site will feature 60 battery units, 12 transformer stations, and 360 bidirectional inverters.

The documentation states, “the project will capture energy from the Quinta de Tilcoco substation, store it temporarily (during times of lower demand), and inject it back into the electrical system (Quinta de Tilcoco substation) during times of highest demand, providing reliability to the electrical system.”

The BESS is expected to have a 25-year lifespan and will be constructed on a 2.5-hectare site.

The estimated start date of project execution is April 1, 2027.

In a separate announcement, Prevalon Energy said it had secured an order from Canada-headquartered renewables developer and operator Innergex Renewable Energy extending their previous cooperation.

The battery storage spin-out from Mitsubishi Power Americas will supply its HD 511 systems – a liquid-cooled AC solution featuring battery enclosures, inverters, medium voltage transformers, and an energy management system (EMS), which will be deployed at two sites – the San Andrés and Salvador facilities in Chile’s Atacama region.

The San Andrés facility will feature a five-hour battery storage system, delivering up to 210 MWh, while the Salvador facility will house a five-hour system with a capacity of 100 MWh. Both projects are pencilled in for completion in 2026.

“These two new BESS projects with Prevalon Energy underscore our shared commitment to driving Chile’s energy transition forward, and we are excited to build on our successful history of collaboration,” said Michel Letellier, president and CEO of Innergex.

The two companies previously worked on 425 MWh of battery storage projects at colocated sites in Chile.