Italy’s Limes secures approval for $150m solar and storage project in Chile

Renewables and storage developer Limes Renewable Energy has secured the Environmental Qualification Resolution (RCA) for its Pradera Larga project in Chile.

The $150 million hybrid project will combine 84MWp of solar PV with a 90MW battery energy storage system (BESS).

Over the next year, Limes will advance the project toward Ready-to-Build, progressing construction financing, PPA negotiations, and procurement activities.

The project, states Limes in a press release, will be situated in the Casablanca area of Central Chile, an area close to high electricity demand centres.

This region has more complex permitting mechanisms than in the northern desert areas, however, Limes is confident this region holds long-term advantages.

Being close to the demand centre reduces the need for long-distance transmission. This will ultimately lower Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) contract risk, states Limes.

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Martin Libra, Limes Head of LATAM commented in a statement: “Pradera Larga is a flagship project for Limes in Chile. Reaching this milestone in such a complex area demonstrates our expertise in developing challenging projects and confirms that we are focused on the right locations. 

"With Pradera Larga and the rest of our Chilean pipeline moving toward maturity, Limes is strongly positioned in the region and actively assessing new opportunities across Latin America,” concluded Libra.

The renewables developer is expanding its Chilean footprint, which now includes approximately 180MWp of solar PV and 620MW of BESS, including Pradera Larga, BESS Huañil, and early-stage developments such as BESS Pimiento (100MW) and BESS El Ganso (150MW).

Chile is a key growth market for Limes, which is also looking at expanding across other areas of Latin America.

Cristiano Spillati, Limes Managing Director, added: “Building on the track record we have established over many years in Italy, we are now applying the same strategy in Chile, fully aligned with our vision to become an independent power producer.”

Read more: Hybridisation drives the next leap in Iberian renewables

Chile is an important market for renewable energy. It is among the countries with the greatest potential for renewables, especially solar, and is the home to many of the critical minerals needed to support the energy transition.

According to think tank Ember, the capacity factor of solar generation plants in Chile is above 30%, double the world average.

The country does, however, grapple with large levels of curtailment, states Ember. For every percentage point Chile manages to reduce its curtailments, 295.5GWh of clean electricity would be available for use in the market per year, enough to supply electricity to more than 120,000 homes for a year.

Battery storage would help the situation, with Ember recommending 1GW of new installed battery storage capacity, which would reduce curtailment by almost a quarter.