10 hours duration! Chile's 560MW molten salt energy storage project approved

Chile's Deputy Energy Minister Luis Felipe Ramos (center) inspected the site in July. Photo: AES Andes

AES Andes has received environmental review approval for a 560MW project in Chile that uses molten salt technology to convert an existing coal-fired power plant to renewable energy and energy storage.

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project was approved on Monday (November 27) by the Environmental Assessment Service of the Antofagasta regional government, where the plant is located.

The project, called Alba, will convert the existing 560MW coal-fired Angamos power plant in Mejillones into a renewable energy storage and generation system based on heated salt. The project will require an investment of US$450 million.

The energy storage unit used by the technology will use a salt system heated to 310-560°C, which then enters a water/salt heat exchanger to release the stored thermal energy and generate steam to drive a turbine generator.

It is suggested in the review documents that the system could have a discharge duration of 10 hours, meaning a potential storage capacity of 5,600MWh.

The potential technology provider has not yet been revealed, but there are several long-duration energy storage (LDES) companies around the world using heated salt as the basis of their technology, including Malta-based company, Kyoto Group and Hyme Energy (although Hyme’s project in Denmark was cancelled earlier this year).

AES Andes has not given an expected commercial operation date (COD) for the project. The company is a subsidiary of global energy company AES and is responsible for its operations in Chile, Argentina and Colombia. AES co-founded Fluence, one of the world’s largest battery energy storage system (BESS) integrators, with electronics giant Siemens.

According to the Global Energy Storage Network (ES.china-nengyuan.com), Chile's energy storage market will soar in the next few years. Due to large-scale solar power abandonment, almost all large-scale solar photovoltaic projects will be combined with energy storage, and the government has also established a mechanism to allow independent projects to be sold in the electricity market. The Atacama Desert region in the north of the country is said to be "the sunniest place in the world."

Just recently, Grenergy Renovables unveiled plans for a 4.1GWh BESS, which the company claims is the largest in the world, while investor SUSI Partners signed development agreements for two solar-plus-storage projects with 900MWh of storage capacity.

(Source: AES Andes Global Energy Storage Network, New Energy Network Comprehensive)