This is Celda Solar, Colbún's first large-scale energy storage system and one of the largest in Chile.
The energy company Colbún and the battery and electric car manufacturer Tesla announced today an agreement through which the American company will supply a Megapacks battery system for 228 MW of power and 912 MWh of daily energy for the Colbún Solar Cell project, located in the commune of Camarones, Arica and Parinacota Region, in Chile.
Celda Solar will be Colbún's first large-scale energy storage system and one of the largest in Chile.
“Energy storage will play an increasing role in the Chilean electricity system, allowing solar energy generated during the day to be stored and supplied to the system at night. Our energy stored in the southern reservoirs perfectly complements the energy we will store in our batteries in the north, thus having a secure, diversified and competitive offer for our clients from Arica to Puerto Montt,” said Colbún CEO José Ignacio Escobar.
Megapack is Tesla's battery system for large-scale energy projects, where each unit can store more than 3.9 MWh of energy, enough to power an average of 3,600 homes for one hour.
The Solar Cell Project
Celda Solar is an energy storage project that will require a total investment of US$260 million and will generate 200 jobs at its peak. Located on an 8-hectare plot of land granted by the Ministry of National Assets, it is estimated that this initiative will begin operations in mid-2026, being able to supply energy equivalent to the consumption of 55,480 homes.
The design of this initiative also considers the construction of the “SE Chaca” elevating substation and a 3.5 kilometer transmission line to connect with the existing substation, “SE Roncacho”.
Celda Solar is part of the portfolio of renewable projects being developed by Colbún, a company that in five years (2022-2026) will have added more than 1,500 MW of solar, wind and storage generation to its generation fleet. This figure includes the start-up of the Diego de Almagro Sur solar park (230 MW plus 8 MW/32 MWh of batteries); the recent acquisition of the San Juan and Totoral wind farms (239 MW); the Horizonte wind project (816 MW), currently in the final stage of commissioning, and Celda Solar (228 MW).
According to a recent report by Bloomberg NEF, Chile is the largest energy storage market in Latin America. Figures from the Ministry of Energy show that the total energy storage capacity in operation in the country as of October reached 679 MW of capacity and 2,690 MWh of stored energy, while projects under construction and in the testing phase together accounted for 969 MW of capacity and 3,830 MW of energy.
