Chile is projecting strong growth in energy storage across the country. In an exclusive interview with Future Energy Summit (FES), Huawei revealed new solutions aimed at utility-scale energy projects.
Huawei Digital Power is preparing the launch of new technologies designed for large-scale energy projects, including 6 MWh battery energy storage systems (BESS) and 30 MW equipment, developed to improve project efficiency and reduce installation costs.
These platforms integrate inverters, batteries and transformers directly connected to substations, together with artificial intelligence systems and redundancy features that allow operations to adapt to different regulatory frameworks and technical requirements.
At the same time, the Chilean market is beginning to show strong growth in the development of energy storage projects.
During an exclusive interview with Future Energy Summit (FES), Felix Chen, President of Huawei Digital Power for Central America and the Caribbean, anticipated that Chile could incorporate a significant battery capacity in the coming years.
“In the Chilean market, more than 4 GW of battery capacity is expected to enter the electricity market in the short term,” he stated.
Watch the full interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlqFW_uGRUY
The growth of storage is driven by territorial imbalances in Chile’s electricity system, as a large share of renewable generation is concentrated in the north of the country, while electricity demand is mainly located in other regions. This situation creates congestion in the transmission network.
These limitations generate significant differences in electricity prices between regions. While in some areas prices rise due to network constraints, in other zones excess renewable generation pushes prices down, in some cases even reaching zero.
“In the south, transmission restrictions push electricity prices above USD 150 per MWh, while in much of the rest of the country the marginal cost is around USD 33 to 35 per MWh,” Chen explained.
In the north of the country, where renewable penetration is higher, grid congestion causes significant losses of clean generation that cannot be transported to demand centres.
“Renewable energy curtailment is already close to 6 GWh per year, equivalent to about 6% of the country’s annual electricity consumption,” he added.
More precisely, in 2025, wind and solar curtailment reached 6,084 GWh (+8% compared to 2024), equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 2.3 million households and around 19% of the year’s wind and solar generation.
At the same time, battery energy storage systems (BESS) have become a key tool to address system constraints. Chile currently has 9 GW of storage projects in operation, under construction and under testing, in addition to 27 GW of storage under development.
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28 projects in operation (1.6 GW – average duration of 4.1 hours)
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6 projects under testing (0.7 GW – average duration of 3.6 hours)
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68 projects under construction (6.8 GW – average duration of 4.4 hours)
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14 GW of storage with favourable environmental qualification
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13 GW of storage is currently under environmental assessment
Moreover, storage deployment offers advantages compared with expanding transmission infrastructure. While developing new transmission lines can take eight to ten years, storage projects can be installed in approximately two years.
In addition, as the share of variable renewable generation increases, technologies capable of providing grid services—such as frequency control, voltage regulation or inertial response—become increasingly necessary.
“The stability of the electricity system is not an abstract technical concept; it is the foundation of a country’s functioning,” Chen stated.
In this context, technologies such as grid-forming inverters allow renewable power plants to actively contribute to power system stability, a role traditionally associated with conventional power plants.
Looking ahead, the development of storage will also depend on regulatory frameworks that recognise the value of this technology within the electricity system, not only as a generation asset but also as a tool to manage the grid and reduce congestion.
With the arrival of new battery projects and technological solutions focused on storage, Chile’s electricity system is beginning to move towards a more flexible model capable of supporting the continued growth of renewable energy.
