Atlas Renewable Energy, an international renewable energy company, has closed a $289 million financing deal with BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank to develop and construct the battery energy storage system (BESS) project in the Desert.
The total financing amount includes $219 million in senior loans and $70 million in other credit lines. The agreement will finance the project, which has an installed capacity of 200 MW, four hours of discharge, and a storage capacity of 800 MWh. This will allow energy to be stored during times of abundant solar energy and reinjected into the grid during times of high demand.
The project will have a storage capacity similar to about 2,500 electric urban public transport buses and equivalent to more than 500,000 km of autonomy in said buses or traveling more than 100 times around Chile.
The project will supply energy to EMOAC, following an agreement signed between COPEC's energy trading subsidiary and Atlas. The agreement expects reinjecting around 280 GWh annually into the grid, contributing to reducing the discharges of renewable energy generated during the day from solar photovoltaic sources and allowing for greater stability and reliability of the electricity supply in the region and the country.
The agreement with EMOAC, together with the award of supply to Codelco with a new photovoltaic plant and a BESS storage system, anticipates Atlas injecting 9.2 TWh of sustainable energy into the grid during peak hours, with an operating period of 15 years.
