Chile had 3,125 MW of operational battery energy storage system (BESS) power capacity and 13,555 MWh of energy storage capacity in September 2026, according to the latest statistical bulletin from the Chilean Renewable Energy and Storage Association (ACERA). Energy storage capacity increased 124.3% year on year, from 6,043 MWh in September 2025, when operational power capacity stood at 1,405 MW.
Of the operational capacity, 2,375 MW/10,521 MWh was associated with solar photovoltaic installations. Standalone BESS accounted for 618 MW/2,640 MWh, while systems linked to wind farms totaled 73 MW/145 MWh. Another 60 MW/249 MWh was associated with hydropower installations. Solar-linked batteries therefore represented 77.6% of operational storage energy capacity.
ACERA also identified 3,017 MW/13,735 MWh of battery storage in testing. This included 2,222 MW/10,550 MWh of hybrid solar-plus-storage systems and 728 MW/2,850 MWh of standalone projects.
A further 5,130 MW/22,123 MWh was under construction, with average storage duration of 4.3 hours. Solar-linked systems accounted for 76% of this power capacity, while standalone installations represented 24%.
Within the construction pipeline, hybrid solar-plus-storage projects totaled 3,877 MW/16,258 MWh, compared with 1,217 MW/5,721 MWh for standalone systems. Another 36 MW/144 MWh was associated with wind installations. ACERA counted 19,972 MW of approved BESS projects and 8,716 MW undergoing environmental assessment, although energy capacity data was unavailable for all these projects.
As pv magazine recently reported, Chilean authorities approved 17 solar and storage projects between August and early October, including at least 15.37 GWh of battery storage.
Solar generation approaches 13 GW
Chile had 12,981 MW of installed solar capacity in September, equivalent to 32.4% of total power capacity in the electricity system. Another 1,117 MW of solar capacity was undergoing testing, while 3,748 MW was under construction.
Solar generation reached 1,936 GWh during the month, up 10% year on year, and accounted for 26.1% of electricity produced. Non-conventional renewable energy sources (ERNC) generated a combined 3,431 GWh, representing 46.2% of monthly generation. Their cumulative share from January to September was 42.9%.
Distributed generation and battery output
ACERA reported that small power generation facilities (PMG) had 509 MW of installed capacity as of September 2026, while small distributed generation facilities (PMGD) totaled 3,877 MW. Net billing installations reached 538 MW as of August 2026, across 44,691 registered systems nationwide.
Battery storage also increased its contribution to the electricity system. Storage installations injected 584 GWh in September, equivalent to 7.9% of the generation counted by ACERA. This was a 216.3% increase year on year.
On Sept. 13 at noon, non-conventional renewable sources reached an hourly share of 84.9%, led by solar generation, according to the bulletin.
Solar and wind curtailment totaled 3,546 GWh from January to September 2026, down 4.6% from the same period a year earlier. This represented a moderation from the trend recorded during the first seven months of the year, when renewable curtailment reached a record 2,680 GWh for that period.
From pv magazine LatAm
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