Greek renewables developer Metlen Energy & Metals has sold a Chilean solar-plus-storage portfolio to investor Glenfarne Asset Company.
The portfolio consists of 588MW of operational solar capacity across four PV plants, combined with 1.6GWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS). Construction of the BESS assets is ongoing and expected to be completed in early 2026.
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Once operational and upon closing of the transaction, the Chilean portfolio will increase Glenfarne’s operational and under construction power assets to more than 3.1GW of capacity and 1.6GWh of BESS across Chile, Panama, Colombia and Costa Rica.
The closing of the transaction – which has been agreed at US$815 million – will occur when the BESS projects become operational, regulatory approvals are obtained and certain financing and other customary conditions for this type of transactions are fulfilled.
According to the Greek developer, the projects are geographically diversified with multiple interconnection nodes across Chile’s electricity network, operated by operated by Sistema Eléctrico Nacional (SEN).
Although the name of the projects were not disclosed by Metlen, they are of the same size as a Chilean solar portfolio of four projects that combine 588MW PV capacity. These are the Tocopilla (227MW), Tamarico (167MW), Willka (109.2MW) and Doña Antonia plants (86MW). The first two were inaugurated in December 2024 and are located in the northern regions of Antofagasta and Atacama, while the others have been operational since December 2023 and August 2024, respectively.
As covered by our sister site Energy-storage.news the BESS portfolio is similar in size to the Mesembria project, which also has a similar timeline for completion.
Brendan Duval, Founder and CEO of Glenfarne, said: “This transaction represents a significant step in Glenfarne’s commitment to further expanding our presence in Chile’s renewable energy sector and continued growth in our business relationships with Metlen.”
Due to the ever-increasing challenge of curtailment, the co-location of BESS capacity with operational solar projects has become a necessity in Chile (Premium access). Chile saw a record of 6TWh of solar PV and wind capacity curtailed last year, more than double the curtailment registered in 2023.
Moreover, Chile – along with Brazil – will be one of the leading markets in South America, according to a recent report from Wood Mackenzie, which forecast 160GW of new PV additions in the region by 2034. In its report, Wood Mackenzie highlighted two challenges facing these two markets, which are curtailment and lagging transmission infrastructure.
