Enel begins commercial operation on 99MW PV plant in Chile

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Enel Chile is exploring the hybridisation of the solar plant with a 67MW BESS with a 2-hour duration. Image: Enel Chile.

Enel Chile, a subsidiary of Italian energy company Enel, has received authorisation from the National Electricity Coordinator to begin commercial operations of a 99MW solar PV plant in Chile.

Located within the Metropolitan Region, where the capital Santiago de Chile is located, the El Manzano plant includes 162,000 bifacial panels.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The company is exploring the hybridisation of its plant with the integration of a battery energy storage system (BESS) which would provide a 67MW and two-hour duration capacity. The storage project is under development and expected to be completed during the first half of 2024.

This is not the first solar-plus-storage in the Metropolitan Region the company will be building. Last year, it started construction of an 80MW solar-plus-storage project – dubbed Don Humberto – with a 67MW BESS output.

Hybridisation of solar PV projects in Chile has been rising in the country last year since the passing of a bill in late 2022 that facilitated the deployment of energy storage, as covered by our sister site Energy-Storage.news.

Fabrizio Barderi, general manager at Enel Chile, said: “The plant will inject the energy generated into the National Electric System, thus helping to overcome the challenges posed by the lack of transmission infrastructure and ensuring that renewable energy is available to meet the high demand in urban areas.”

Enel’s Chilean subsidiary currently has more than 1.8GW of installed solar capacity in the country, a slight decrease from the 2GW of capacity it used to have last year as it sold four solar plants in October to independent power producer Sonnedix with a combined capacity of 416MW.

Read Next

June 30, 2025
Eni subsidiary Plentiude has started operations at the northern block of its 330MW Renopool solar portfolio in Spain.
June 30, 2025
Voting on the US tax reconciliation bill is expected to begin in the Senate today, following a draft published on Friday that hit clean energy tax credits hard.
June 30, 2025
The Spanish government has launched a €100 million (US$117 million) aid programme to help promote the recycling and reuse of materials from renewable energy projects.
June 27, 2025
The UK government has decided it will not sign a Contract for Difference (CfD) with Xlinks for the 11.5GW Morroco-UK interconnector project.
June 25, 2025
JinkoSolar has submitted a 133.76MWc solar-plus-storage project in New South Wales to the federal government under the EPBC Act.
June 25, 2025
The Spanish government has approved a series of measures aimed at reinforcing the electrical system and strengthening the supervision of operators.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
July 2, 2025
Bangkok, Thailand
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico