AES Chile Solar Plant Enters Final Stage with the Assembly of State-of-the-Art Panels

-The project will provide 180 MW and will have a 112 MW lithium battery-based energy storage system, thus becoming the largest of its kind in Latin America.

With nearly 90% progress in its construction, the Andes Solar IIb photovoltaic plant, which is being built by AES Chile in the Atacama Desert, Region of Antofagasta, has entered the final stage to soon complete the works and start injecting energy into the National Electricity System (SEN) during this year.

The project will provide 180 MW, including 10 MW of Maverick pre-assembled panel technology, and will include a built-in battery system that will provide 112 MW. This will complement the 103 MW already in operation at Andes Solar IIA and Andes Solar I.

The initiative has already started with a key milestone: the assembly of the Maverick panels. This is a pre-fabricated, pre-wired solar solution that can be deployed three times faster than traditional photovoltaic systems, while using only half the land per MW than existing projects.

In 2020, AES acquired an interest on a global scale in 5B, an Australian company that has developed this technology, allowing it to offer an extra competitive advantage by capturing more solar potential in the country.

Ignacio Moyano, project manager of AES Chile, said that, to date, the project has made progress in deploying 123 Maverick panel units, with all major supplies already available and the pile-driving phase already completed (foundations of the structures supporting the plant).

As to the relevance of the plant, the executive added that “Andes Solar IIb is a project that has several differentiating elements compared to what has been done in the field of photovoltaic energy in the country, since it is the first solar plant in Chile that will have a 112 MW lithium battery-based energy storage system, becoming the largest of its kind in Latin America”.

It is a technology developed by Fluence, a joint venture between Siemens and AES. This device will accumulate enough solar power to meet the electricity needs of 370,000 Chilean households during 5 night-time hours.

Construction of the plant began in late 2020, with commercial operation expected to begin in 2022.

In addition to the contribution to the National Electricity System, Moyano stressed that Andes Solar IIb also contributes to the sustainable economic reactivation of the country by hiring 750 workers and creating a diverse demand for services in the Region of Antofagasta.