Utility AES Andes has started construction on two renewable energy projects in Chile, with a combined 1.3GW of capacity.
Located in the northern region of Antofagasta, the Pampas and Cristales projects will combine solar PV, wind and energy storage.
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The Pampas project will consist of 229MW of solar PV, 128MW of wind capacity and a 171MW battery energy storage system (BESS) with a 5-hour duration, according to the company’s project presentation. The power rating of the BESS has been drastically reduced since last year, when the company received an Environmental Qualification Resolution in August 2024, as covered by our sister-site Energy-storage.news. At the time, the project was expected to build a 5-hour duration BESS with a 624MW power output.
The Cristales project will consist of 288MW of solar PV and a 340MW BESS with a 4-hour duration. Both projects will install bifacial modules with terrain-following trackers.
Combined, the projects will increase Chile’s installed renewable energy capacity by 1,3250MW with AES Andes investing more than US$1.1 billion between the two projects.
Commercial operations are expected to begin in 2027 for both projects.
Co-locating BESS with solar PV in Chile
The co-location of BESS with solar PV or wind in Chile has become a necessity (Premium access) in the country, with curtailment issues growing year after year. Data from the Chilean renewable energy and energy storage association (ACERA) registered nearly 6TWh of solar PV and wind curtailment in 2024 in the country, more than doubling 2023’s numbers.
As the need for co-locating solar PV with energy storage increases, many companies in Chile have either added energy storage capacity to standalone solar PV projects or built co-located projects. AES Andes is among the many companies that have reached commercial operations of solar-plus-storage projects in the past 12 months.
Last October, the utility completed the Andes Solar Park IV, which comprises 211MW solar PV and a 130MW lithium-based BESS with a 5-hour duration. Similar to the 1.3GW renewables portfolio currently under construction, it is located in the northern region of Antofagasta, which is known for having some of the highest irradiation levels in the world (Premium access).
Chile is one of the leading countries in Latin America when it comes to energy storage and has already commissioned more than 1GW of BESS, with two projects from AES Andes.
Aside from these two renewable energy projects, the company has three other projects under construction in Chile with a portfolio of 2.1GW currently being built.
All three other projects currently being built by AES Andes contain BESS capacity, two of which are to be co-located with solar PV. One of the co-located projects is the Andes Solar III, which is expected to begin commercial operations in February 2026. Once operational, the project will consist of 171MW of solar PV and a 171MW BESS with a 5-hour duration.
