Engie to invest USD 650m in wind, BESS projects in Chile

Chilean power utility Engie Energia Chile SA said on Friday that it will invest around USD 650 million (EUR 611.5m) in the latest pair of renewable energy projects in the South American country.

The larger of the two is the 342-MW Lomas de Taltal wind farm project in the Chilean region of Antofagasta, which will require an investment of some USD 450 million. The company said it had signed an agreement with affiliates of China’s Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co Ltd (SHE:002202) to procure wind turbines for this project.

Lomas de Taltal will be equipped with 57 turbines each of 6 MW of capacity.

The second project is for the 638-MWh Coya battery energy storage system (BESS) also in Antofagasta, which Engie Chile announced some two weeks ago. China’s Sungrow Power Supply Co Ltd (SHE:300274) secured the contract for the supply of lithium-ion batteries for Coya.

The budget for this project stands at around USD 200 million, the utility said.

The BESS will be co-located with the 181.25-MWac Coya solar PV farm, which Engie recently commissioned. Construction was expected to commence this month.

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