Water concerns sink Oenergy’s 60-MW BESS project in Chile

Chilean renewables developer Oenergy has failed to obtain the environmental permit for its project to install a 60-MW battery energy storage system (BESS) and associated infrastructure in the region of Atacama, northern Chile.

The proposal for the project, named Halcon 5, included the construction of the battery array, a 0.29-km (0.18 miles) high-voltage transmission line and a substation in the commune of Diego de Almagro.

The Atacama environmental evaluation authority last week issued a report recommending that Oenergy’s environmental impact statement (EIS) for the project be rejected for not complying with water quality safeguards. A committee convened on Tuesday and adopted the recommendation, officially denying the environmental permit.

Oenergy had intended to invest USD 104.9 million (EUR 94.6m) in the whole development. The BESS would have consisted of 44 containers with a combined storage capacity of 316.8 MWh. The project is one of several Halcon BESS power schemes that Oenergy developed across various parts of Chile. Some of them planned in Atacama have already secured environmental approval.

However, the Atacama environment evaluation authority found the EIS for Halcon 5 to be deficient. The body said the Oenergy did not provide sufficient data to assess the potential impact of construction on water dynamics at the project site, and in general, failed to demonstrate that the project would not harm water quality and public health.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.902)

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