Upon discontinuation of power plants using coal for energy generation to take place in the country until 2040, several energy generation investments through the use of renewable sources become a key step to offer flexibility to the system and reach the goal of obtaining a sustainable energy grid by then.
To meet this growing demand for power generation through this configuration, WEG, through its manufacturing plant located in Blumenau, state of Santa Catarina, has just supplied two large transformers in the power range of 300 MVA and 260 MVA, both in 220 kV, to a large player operating in the energy market in Chile. These transformers will be used in two parks that, together, incorporate four different technologies, in a total of 253 MW in energy generation from renewable sources and 112 MW from application of batteries.
One of the energy generation projects comes from solar power source, with 180MW generation capacity, located in the Antofagasta region, in northern Chile, which will incorporate the largest lithium battery energy storage system in Latin America, known as BESS - Battery Energy Storage Systems.
Ten of these 180 MW photovoltaic panels will come from a revolutionary technology, which uses modular and prefabricated solar panels that allow installation in a third of the required time and occupy half of the surface. In turn, the BESS solution allows to store energy for 5 hours, capturing the energy generated by the sun's rays long after sunset, resulting in a more competitive and resilient energy supply.
The other project, with 73 MW generation capacity, makes part of a 480 MW wind generation cluster, located in the Biobio region, which will contribute to making the Chilean electrical system even more sustainable.