Chile's Atacama Desert is emerging as a global center for battery production.

      **TL;DR** ContourGlobal has opened a $500 million solar-and-storage facility in Chile's Atacama desert, generating 200 megawatts of power for up to 6.5 hours at night. Currently, Chile operates 3,072 MW of battery storage and anticipates adding another 5,400 MW by December 2026.

      ContourGlobal, the independent power producer supported by KKR, has launched a nearly $500 million solar-and-storage plant in Chile’s Atacama desert, which stores solar energy generated during the day for nighttime use. The Victor Jara hybrid facility integrates 231 megawatt-peak of solar capacity with 1.3 gigawatt-hours of battery storage, allowing it to deliver 200 megawatts of power for as long as 6.5 hours after sunset. ContourGlobal claims this is the longest-duration utility-scale battery system in Latin America.

      Located in the Tarapacá region, the plant benefits from a 15-year night-time power purchase agreement with Copec EMOAC, the renewable energy supply and marketing branch of Empresas Copec, one of Chile’s largest conglomerates. This marks ContourGlobal's second investment in solar-and-storage in Chile, following a similar project launched last year in Quillagua, located in the neighboring Antofagasta region. Together, these two facilities provide 452 megawatt-peak of solar capacity and 2.5 gigawatt-hours of battery storage.

      **Why the Atacama**

      The Atacama desert benefits from some of the highest solar irradiance on the planet, making it an exceptionally productive site for photovoltaic energy generation. However, the grid struggles to absorb the excess electricity generated during daylight hours, leading to frequent curtailments and wasted energy from solar facilities that must shut down when power cannot be accommodated. Transmission congestion between the solar-rich northern region and the demand centers in the south exacerbates this challenge.

      Battery storage addresses this issue by capturing surplus solar energy during the day and releasing it at night, effectively converting an intermittent energy source into a stable, dispatchable one. Solar-plus-storage projects are increasingly designed to meet round-the-clock power requirements, including the rising energy demand from data centers that require a constant and reliable supply.

      James Lee Stancampiano, ContourGlobal’s general manager for South America, emphasized that Chile is a key location in Latin America, pointing to its regulatory conditions, increasing electricity demand, and a pipeline of renewable energy and storage projects. The company is also exploring potential projects closer to the capital Santiago and in the central and southern regions for wind energy.

      **A Storage Boom in Numbers**

      As per the Coordinador Eléctrico Nacional (CEN), Chile has 3,072 megawatts of battery energy storage capacity currently in operation or testing, with most projects located within the Atacama desert. CEN forecasts an additional 5,400 megawatts of storage capacity will be operational by December 2026. Battery energy storage systems now constitute nearly 42% of Chile’s energy project capacity pipeline, representing the largest single category.

      Investment in this area is not reliant on a single entity. Companies like AES Andes, Engie Energía Chile, and Enel Green Power Chile are all developing storage projects in the country. Additionally, Atlas Renewable Energy, supported by BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners, secured $510 million last year for its hybrid Estepa project, one of the largest solar-plus-storage initiatives in Chile. Spanish developer Grenergy is constructing the Oasis de Atacama complex, touted as the largest solar-plus-storage project globally.

      **Mining, Data Centers, and the Demand Driver**

      Chile's distinctiveness among solar-rich markets stems from its industrial demand profile. The country’s mining industry, which accounts for about a quarter of the world’s copper and a considerable proportion of its lithium, is known for being extremely energy-intensive. Mines operate continuously and require reliable and predictable energy supply while facing escalating pressure from customers, regulators, and investors to decarbonize.

      Antonio Cammisecra, ContourGlobal’s CEO, noted that the demand for reliable, long-term renewable energy has been driven by the presence of a highly energy-intensive industrial base, particularly the mining sector. He framed energy storage as the technology that transforms renewables from intermittent sources into programmable energy solutions, which he views as vital for decreasing system costs, increasing decarbonization, and replacing conventional energy sources at scale.

      Emerging as a significant demand driver are data centers. The global shift toward electrification of various sectors, from industrial processes to AI computing, is generating new markets for continuous renewable energy. ContourGlobal anticipates rising demand from data centers that require large quantities of constant electricity, with Chile's affordable solar, storage infrastructure, and political stability making it an attractive site for facilities that might otherwise be established in the US or northern Europe.

      **A Scalable Global Model**

      Chile