Spanish independent power producer (IPP) has unveiled two new solar-plus-storage projects, one in Central Chile and the other in Spain.
Aimed to replicate the model used for the Oasis de Atacama project in Chile, the IPP will build a second solar-plus-storage project in the South American country. Oasis de Atacama, one of the world’s biggest projects of its type, is being built in phases aimed at eventually reaching 2GW of solar PV and 11GWh of battery storage capacity,
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With an investment of €900 million (US$1 billion), the newly-announced project targets to reach 1.1GW of solar PV capacity and 3.8GWh of battery energy storage system (BESS).
The project will be built in several phases (five planned), with all expected to be operational by 2027. The Spanish IPP already secured power purchase agreements (PPAs) for all the phases with the state-owned mining company and copper producer Codelco.
In its home country of Spain, the IPP’s flagship hybrid project will be located in the central region of Castilla-la Mancha. The Escuderos project will also be built in several phases, however, in this case it will be only two. The hybrid plant is expected to have 200MW of solar PV and 704MWh of BESS. Construction is targeted to begin in the second half of 2025, while Grenergy recently secured the environmental permits for the BESS.
A 12-year daytime PPA was already secured with Spanish energy company Galp, back in 2021, while a hybrid PPA with an undisclosed company is expected to be finalised soon.
€3.5 billion investment between 2025-2027
These two projects are part of the company’s plan to invest €3.5 billion to increase its energy storage and hybrid portfolio by 2027. Grenergy targets to reach 4.4GW of installed solar PV and 18.8GWh of battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity by 2027.
The IPP’s roadmap to 2027, announced Wednesday (28 May) at a Capital Markets Day held in London, UK, will be based on three pillars, all of which involve energy storage.
“We’re entering a new growth cycle where storage and 24/7 clean energy management will be at the core of our strategy through 2027. Our vision is clear: to lead the development of BESS, capitalising on key markets such as Chile and Europe,” said David Ruiz de Andrés, CEO of Grenergy.
This move towards building more BESS and hybrid solar-plus-storage projects continues in the direction of its previous strategic plan spanning between 2023-2026, when Grenergy announced a US$2.6 billion investment to expand its solar and storage portfolio. At the time, the company saw Chile as a pivotal market to leverage its solar and storage businesses, which included the Oasis de Atacama project.
The construction of two more solar-plus-storage projects is one of the three pillars, while the other two are the launch of a European standalone battery storage development platform called Greenbox and delivering round-the-clock solar energy supply through its Chilean power retailer, GR Power, enabled by storage systems.
Portions of this article originally appeared on our sister site Energy-storage.news, with that article including more extensive discussion of Grenergy’s strategic direction, as well as the solar-plus-storage projects.
