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The multinational ContourGlobal formalized the start of operations of its battery energy storage system at the Víctor Jara hybrid plant. This infrastructure is located in the Tarapacá region. The system has the capacity to supply electricity continuously for six and a half hours.
By complementing a 231-megawatt-peak photovoltaic solar park, the complex ensures delivery of up to 200 megawatts of clean energy after sunset. This technical feature positions the project as the longest-duration system in operation within the utility-scale storage market in Latin America.
The expansion of the Víctor Jara hybrid plant in Tarapacá
The inauguration ceremony was attended by James Lee Stancampiano, ContourGlobal’s General Manager for South America, and Ximena Rincón González, Chile’s Minister of Energy. Both authorities highlighted the country’s positioning as a recipient of investments aimed at turning intermittent generation into a manageable, steady, and secure renewable supply. With this plant entering full operation, the company totals 850 megawatts in operation in Chile.
Indeed, the company’s rollout encompasses multiple strategic initiatives in the country’s northern zone. The current operating portfolio includes the Víctor Jara plant and the Quillagua project, located in the Antofagasta region. The latter combines 221 megawatts peak of solar capacity with 1.2 gigawatt-hours of storage capacity. Meanwhile, the Tarapacá facility reaches a total storage capacity equivalent to 1.3 gigawatt-hours.
The financial viability of the Víctor Jara plant is underpinned by a long-term power purchase agreement signed with the marketer Copec EMOAC. This nighttime agreement has a term of fifteen years. The contractual structure enables implementation of the operating scheme marketed as “Sun for the Night“. The process consists of capturing the solar resource during low-demand time blocks to inject it into the power grid during nighttime consumption peaks.
Through this scheme, the project provides stability and technical flexibility to the National Electric System. Likewise, optimized storage management facilitates efficient integration of surplus resources and mitigates the risks of clean energy curtailment.
Moreover, the evolution of intermittent renewable systems toward continuous supply schemes aligns with the trends analyzed by the International Renewable Energy Agency. Sector indicators show that combining photovoltaic parks with utility-scale batteries offers competitive costs compared to conventional generation sources based on fossil fuels.
In this global landscape, the Chilean market serves as a benchmark for validating clean technologies. Factors such as desert irradiation, current regulation, and legal certainty drive capital inflows. Currently, the country has more than 270 storage projects at different stages of development, a figure that represents more than two thirds of the initiatives registered across the Latin American region. This volume of sector investment is framed within a private economic projection that exceeds $100,000 million in the medium term.
Source and photo: ContourGlobal