Chile's Enel Chile Begins Construction on 100 MW Energy Storage Project

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Enel Chile, through its subsidiary Enel Green Power Chile, announced the start of construction of the Finis Terrae BESS energy storage system at the interconnection point of the Finis Terrae photovoltaic plant in the Antofagasta Region, with an installed capacity of 100 MW. Once completed, the facility will be able to store part of the photovoltaic generation and deliver it to Chile's National Electric System (SEN) at a later time.

This project will transform the Finis Terrae site into a combined energy plant integrating photovoltaic generation and energy storage. Enel stated that the storage system is expected to store approximately 168 GWh of energy annually, a scale roughly equivalent to 12% of the potential storage capacity of the Pangue hydroelectric plant's reservoir. However, the construction announcement did not disclose the nominal capacity (in MWh) or discharge duration of the storage system.

In the 2025 Annual Report on Form 20-F submitted by Enel Chile, Finis Terrae BESS was included in the project pipeline list with an installed capacity of 100 MW and an estimated total investment of approximately USD 95 million. As of the end of December 2025, the company stated that no expenditures related to this storage project had been incurred.

The storage system will adopt Grid Forming (GFM) technology. Unlike traditional inverters that can only follow the grid's voltage and frequency references, inverters using GFM technology can actively participate in forming the grid's voltage and frequency references. Enel stated that this configuration helps maintain voltage and frequency stability in Chile's National Electric System.

The application of this technical approach comes at a time when Chile's power system is undergoing technological transformation due to the increasing integration of power-electronics-interfaced resources. In 2024, Chile's National Electric Coordinator (Coordinador Eléctrico Nacional) issued specific technical recommendations for Grid Forming and Grid Following technologies, proposing that new storage systems connected to the transmission system should possess GFM capabilities, including fast voltage and frequency control, synchronization, and oscillation damping.

The Finis Terrae plant, located in the María Elena commune, originally had an installed capacity of 160 MW, and was subsequently expanded with Finis Terrae Extensión (126 MW) and Finis Terrae III (18 MW). The latter two plants obtained commercial operation permits in July 2023, and Enel expects their combined annual generation to be approximately 448 GWh.

Finis Terrae BESS is the third large-scale energy storage project that Enel Green Power Chile is advancing in the Antofagasta Region. In November 2025, the company announced the start of construction of BESS Las Salinas, which is paired with a hybrid complex consisting of a 205 MW photovoltaic plant and the 112 MW Sierra Gorda Este wind farm, with the battery system's announced installed capacity of approximately 205 MW and a storage duration of up to four hours.

In April of this year, the company also began construction of Azabache BESS, with an installed capacity of 94 MW and a storage capacity of 372 MWh. This storage system will be integrated into a complex comprising the Azabache photovoltaic plant and the Valle de los Vientos wind farm, also located in the Antofagasta Region.

Enel stated that, together with the Finis Terrae, Las Salinas, and Azabache projects, as well as systems already in operation, the company's total installed capacity in operational and under-construction storage facilities exceeds 730 MW.

This development comes against a backdrop of continued acceleration in battery storage installations in Chile. According to data from late July, as of the end of June, Chile's operational energy storage installed capacity stood at 2,291 MW, with an additional 4.7 GW under construction.