Spanish independent power producer (IPP) Grenergy has sold a portfolio of Chilean solar projects to ContourGlobal, a subsidiary of investment firm KKR.
The portfolio consists of the first three phases of the Oasis de Atacama project, which consists of seven phases and a total capacity of 2GW of solar PV and 11GW of battery energy storage systems (BESS). The project is located in the solar hotbed of the Atacama desert, in northern Chile.
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The sale of phases one to three – Quillagua 1, Quillagua 2 and Víctor Jara – represent 23% of the Oasis de Atacama project and a combined capacity of 451MW for solar PV and 2.5GWh for BESS.
Following the transaction, Grenergy will retain a portfolio of 1.5GW of solar PV capacity and 8.5GWh of BESS, making up the remainder of the Oasis de Atacama project.
All three phases are currently under construction with the first phase expected to be connected to the grid in the coming weeks, while the remaining phases will be powered between 2025 and 2026.
The agreement includes the operations and maintenance of the assets for a period of five years and the supply of equipment, such as batteries.
David Ruiz de Andrés, executive chairman of Grenergy, said: “We continue to develop many other projects in the country with a model focused on storage and that we want to replicate in other markets where we operate, such as the United States and Europe. We are determined to be a global leader in energy storage in the coming years.”
This transaction is part of the Spanish IPP’s asset rotation target set for 2026, which includes the investment of €2.6 billion to expand its solar and energy storage portfolio.
Funding secured for Oasis de Atacama phase three
Alongside the sale of these solar PV plants, the Spanish IPP has also secured an additional US$299 million in financing for its landmark solar-plus-storage project in Chile.
Financing for the Oasis de Atacama will be for the project’s third phase and consists of a new non-recourse green loan with international financial institutions BNP Paribas, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, Société Générale, the Bank of Nova Scotia and SMBC.
These are the same entities that have previously financed the Spanish IPP’s first two phases with US$354 million earlier this year, as covered by our sister-site Energy-storage.news.
The third phase of the Oasis de Atacama project – Víctor Jara – consists of 230MW of solar PV capacity and 1.3GWh of energy storage. Grenergy previously secured energy storage supply agreements with Chinese BESS firms BYD and CATL for the first three phases of the project.
The Oasis de Atacama project has also seen its solar PV capacity recently double, following Grenergy’s acquisition of a 1GW solar portfolio in the region.
