Chile's Versalles II Solar-plus-Storage Project Enters Environmental Review with $110 Million Investment, Scheduled to Start Construction in 2028

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Ventana del Sol has submitted the Environmental Impact Declaration (DIA) for the Versalles II – Sector Chilicauquen photovoltaic power plant and battery energy storage system (BESS) project to Chile's Environmental Impact Assessment System (SEIA). The project has an installed capacity of 139 MWp and an estimated investment of $110 million. It has been accepted for review and is now in the environmental assessment phase.

The project is located in the municipality of Puchuncaví, in the province of Valparaíso, Valparaíso Region, covering approximately 232 hectares. According to the DIA executive summary, the plant is expected to generate 365.3 GWh of electricity annually.

The plant is planned to use approximately 225,504 bifacial photovoltaic modules, each with a rated power of 620 Wp. The modules will be mounted on 4,176 single-axis trackers, arranged in a north-south orientation with horizontal east-west tracking operation.

The project also includes a battery energy storage system. According to the environmental documents, the system consists of 176 units, each housed in a 20-foot shipping container installed on concrete supports, with battery racks inside. The executive summary notes a storage capacity of 5 MW per container, without specifying the storage duration or the total energy capacity in MWh.

Electricity will be transmitted from the modules to combiner boxes, then to power conversion centers where DC-to-AC conversion and low-to-medium voltage step-up will take place. Each power conversion center will be connected to a step-up substation.

To inject power into the National Electric System (SEN), Versalles II also plans to build a switching station (subestación seccionadora) to sectionalize the existing 2×220 kV Nueva Ventanas–Nogales transmission line. The connection will be made through existing transmission infrastructure.

The schedule in the DIA shows that construction is planned to begin in October 2028, subject to the issuance of the Environmental Qualification Resolution (RCA). The construction period will last 18 months, ending in April 2030, with an average workforce of 186 workers during construction and a peak of 450. The operation phase is scheduled to begin in April 2030.

According to the documents submitted to Chile's Environmental Assessment Agency (SEA), the project investment is set at $110 million. In addition to the solar power plant and BESS, the permanent works include power conversion centers, step-up substations, the switching station, operation and maintenance facilities, and switching towers.

The DIA also states that the owner plans to voluntarily undertake several environmental commitments, including hiring personnel from Puchuncaví and Quintero, particulate matter control, erosion process monitoring, animal protection measures, archaeological monitoring, ecological shelter maintenance, and soil improvement.