Recurrent Energy files EIS for 250-MW solar, BESS project in Chile

Recurrent Energy, a unit of Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ:CSIQ), has embarked on the environmental permitting process to secure approval for its 250-MW Zaldivar solar and battery energy storage project in northern Chile.

The environmental permitting authority of the Antofagasta region on Monday accepted to assess Recurrent’s application to establish the facilities on its territory. According to the publicly available filing, the solar and storage developer expects to invest USD 238 million (EUR 220.4m) in the Zaldivar project.

The renewable energy park will consist of a solar farm equipped with just over 384,000 bifacial monocrystalline modules and a 250-MW four-hour battery energy storage system (BESS). The chosen site is a piece of land spanning 468.86 hectares (50.5m sq ft) located some 122 km (75.8 miles) east of the city of Antofagasta.

The start of construction is set for March 2026, according to Recurrent’s environmental impact statement (EIS).

The company filed the EIS through its entity Zapaleri SpA, which secured 15-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) in Chile’s 2022 power supply auction with the Zaldivar solar-plus-storage project. As Canadian Solar explained, Zaldivar will partly operate under those PPAs, while the remainder of its production will be sold to private off-takers.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.926)

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