Canadian Solar Wins 253 MWp Solar, 1,000 MWh BESS Project in Chile

Solar PV modules manufacturer and large scale solar project developer Canadian Solar has announced that the company has been awarded a 253 MWp solar plus 1,000 MWh battery energy storage project called ‘Zaldivar Project’ in Chile’s public tender held by Chile’s Energy National Commission (CNE) in July 2022.

The official statement of Canadian Solar held that CNE awarded a total of 777 GWh/year of new generation backed by three different new renewable projects, of which the Zaldivar Project will account for 16 per cent.

Canadian Solar held that the Zaldivar Project, located in Antofagasta Region, is currently at mid-stage development. The project is expected to start construction in 2024 and reach commercial operation in 2026. Once in operation, part of the electricity generated by solar will be purchased by a pool of distribution companies under 15-year power purchase agreements (PPAs), and the remaining will be purchased by private energy off-takers.

The company said that the Zaldivar Project will reduce Chile’s carbon emissions and improving the reliability of the local grid. It is expected to displace more than 263,000 tons of CO2 emissions each year. Additionally, the battery storage component of the Zaldivar Project will help improve the reliability and stability of Chile’s grid by providing firm capacity, ancillary services, and energy trading services, while enhancing the long-term value of these projects by creating diversified sources of revenue.

Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar, stated, “Chile is one of the most promising renewable markets in Latin America. This solar and battery storage project awarded to Canadian Solar will reinforce our leading position in Latin America, particularly in Chile where Canadian Solar has a backlog of 600 MWp of solar projects and 2.2 GWh of battery storage projects.”

Canadian Solar is a global manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules, provider of solar energy and battery storage solutions, and developer of utility-scale solar power and battery storage projects. In the last 21 years, Canadian Solar claims to have delivered about 76 GW of solar photovoltaic modules across the world. Recently, with a capacity of 200,000MT of high-purity polysilicon, 10GW of cells and modules, and multiple GW of raw and auxiliary material production, Canadian Solar shared that it intends to construct an integrated PV manufacturing factory in Western China.