Grenergy will expand its Oasis de Atacama battery project in Chile with two new phases through the acquisition of 1GW of solar power, including a 1GW energized line, from Repsol and Ibereólica.
The operation comprises a 77MW solar project and 923MW of PV projects that are in various stages of development.
Grenergy will invest US$128m in this transaction, which will allow it to multiply the size of Oasis de Atacama, whose battery storage capacity will increase to 11GWh from the current 4.1GWh and double its solar PV generation capacity from 1GW to 2GW.
In addition, it currently has a 1GW interconnection line built and energised, which will facilitate the connection process of the projects under development.
David Ruiz de Andrés, executive chairman of Grenergy, said: “This is just the first step of what is to come. Battery investments are going to multiply globally, and this project will allow us to be a benchmark in the sector.”
Grenergy maintains the financial plan presented at the previous Capital Markets Day, with an investment of €2,600m for the period 2023-2026.
This means, despite the increase in the size of the project, no additional financial resources are foreseen to carry out this investment.
Located in Chile, Oasis de Atacama is expected to produce around 5.5TWh of energy per year, which will be transferred to non-solar hours.
The first phase of Oasis de Atacama is expected to be connected by the end of 2024, while the remaining phases will be connected mainly between 2025 and 2026.
Grenergy has already agreed to sell the energy from the first four phases, with the remaining phases in advanced negotiation.
It has recently reached financial closing of the first two phases of Oasis de Atacama for US$345m with BNP Paribas, Natixis, Société Générale, The Bank of Nova Scotia and SMBC.
For the supply of large-scale storage systems, it has concluded a strategic agreement with BYD, a high-tech company, which already amounts to 3GWh, and which represents the Asian multinational’s largest to date.