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Engie switches on 251 MW of batteries in Chile as Grenergy sells US$475m Atacama phase

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industrial worker inspecting batteries in warehouse

Deal factsCountry: Chile · Technology: Solar plus storage · Stage: Commissioning · Size: 251 MW of batteries; 272 MW / 1,100 MWh sold · Value: US$475m · Parties: Engie, Grenergy, CVC DIF

Engie has brought two battery energy storage projects with a combined 251 MW of capacity into commercial operation in Chile, while Grenergy has agreed to sell the fourth phase of its Oasis de Atacama solar-plus-storage complex to infrastructure investor CVC DIF at an enterprise value of US$475 million. The two announcements, made on 28 August and 2 September 2026, confirm Chile as the most active storage market in Latin America.

The larger of Engie’s projects is Libélula, in the Colina and Tiltil municipalities around 40 km north of Santiago. The site pairs a 140 MW solar plant of 245,560 panels with a 203 MW/1,034 MWh battery made up of 208 lithium-ion containers offering five hours of discharge. Total investment is US$320 million, of which US$219 million went into the storage system. Power is exported over a 16 km, 220 kV line to the El Manzano substation. The battery is operating and the solar plant has been energised and is completing its commissioning process.

The second project, Los Loros in Tierra Amarilla in the Atacama Region, is a 48 MW/275.23 MWh system built from 63 lithium iron phosphate containers alongside the existing Los Loros photovoltaic park. Engie invested US$64 million in the battery, whose energisation was first announced in March 2026.

Grenergy’s transaction covers the Gabriela phase of Oasis de Atacama, comprising 272 MW of solar and 1,100 MWh of storage. The asset is operational and backed by a 15-year hybrid power purchase agreement and a US$324 million green loan from a consortium of banks led by BNP Paribas, Natixis, Société Générale and Scotiabank. Grenergy will keep operating and maintaining the plant for five years. The sale, together with the December 2024 disposal of the first phase to ContourGlobal, brings the value of assets rotated out of the 14.1 GWh complex to about US$1.5 billion, roughly a quarter of the project. Grenergy is targeting EUR 800 million of asset rotation through 2028 to help fund a revised investment plan of US$4.28 billion.

Why does this matter?

Chile shows how solar-plus-storage can move from pilot to portfolio scale in an emerging market. Utilities are switching on gigawatt-hour batteries, infrastructure funds are buying operating assets at premium valuations, and banks are lending against hybrid PPAs. That recycling of capital is the model other Latin American and African markets are trying to copy.

What happens next?

Engie expects Libélula’s solar plant to reach commercial operation once its final tests are complete. Grenergy will close the Gabriela sale and continue expanding the sixth phase of Oasis de Atacama, which reached 3.5 GWh in June 2026, towards a 7 GWh target, while marketing further phases to investors as part of a plan for 5 GW of solar and 22 GWh of storage across Chile and Spain.

Sources: Energy-Storage.News: Engie starts up 251MW BESS projects in Chile, Grenergy sells fourth phase of Atacama solar-plus-storage complex.

More from the pipeline: all commissioned projects · Chile · the full pipeline map

About this reporting

EnergiTech Media is an independent B2B publication covering energy infrastructure in emerging markets for the operations, engineering, purchasing and logistics teams that supply utilities and OEMs. Our articles draw on published power plans, tender documents, utility and regulator statements, and reports from the IEA, IRENA, the World Bank and regional development banks, and every piece is reviewed before publication and dated when last updated. Read more about how we work · Corrections and tips: support@energitechmedia.com · Get the weekly briefing: Emerging Energy Weekly.

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