e-STORAGE to deliver 912 MWh BESS for Colbún’s Chile project

Canadian Solar has announced that e-STORAGE, which is part of the company’s majority-owned subsidiary CSI Solar, has signed a contract with Chile’s power generation firm Colbún to supply a 228 MW/912 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) for the Diego de Almagro Sur project in Chile’s Atacama region.

The Diego de Almagro Sur BESS project will utilize e-STORAGE’s SolBank 3.0, a proprietary battery energy storage solution, featuring lithium-iron-phosphate battery technology, an active balancing battery management system, and an advanced liquid cooling system for superior performance and safety. 

e-STORAGE will also provide Colbún with a fully integrated solution that includes local project management, commissioning services and long-term maintenance, according to a media release.

Construction is scheduled to begin in June 2025, generating up to 150 jobs at peak activity. The project is expected to reach commercial operation in December 2026. With enough capacity to cover the equivalent electricity consumption of 55,480 households, this storage system will be co-located with the 232 MW Diego de Almagro Sur Solar Park, which Colbún has been operating since 2022. The solar park currently includes an existing battery storage system with a capacity of 8 MW/32 MWh of storage.

The Diego de Almagro Sur BESS project will also deliver advanced grid services — such as grid forming, black start, and inertia support — that are essential for integrating more renewables into Chile’s national grid, the media release said.

“This agreement with e-STORAGE positions us as one of the leading companies in Chile’s energy storage market, ensuring a continuous and secure supply of renewable energy for our industrial clients,” said José Ignacio Escobar, CEO of Colbún. “This project, together with the other battery systems we are developing in the north of the country, will complement the storage capacity we already have through our reservoirs in the south.”  

“The Diego de Almagro Sur BESS Project represents a significant milestone for e-STORAGE’s expansion in Latin America and reinforces our role as a key enabler of Chile’s clean energy transformation,” said Colin Parkin, President of e-STORAGE. “This project showcases the critical role of BESS in enabling greater grid reliability, optimizing renewable energy usage, and supporting industrial demand with a secure and continuous supply.”