Chile’s Punta de Talca wind farm adds a 240-MWh battery to store turbine electricity for hours of higher demand
Wind power doesn’t always align with peak electricity demand. Strong winds can create more energy than the grid can use, leaving some renewable energy untapped.
Chile has now taken another step to meet this challenge with a large battery installation at an existing wind farm. The project combines two energy technologies at one site.
But how can a battery change the fate of electricity that is hours old?
The company also expects the project to reduce dependence on fossil fuels by improving the availability and flexibility of renewable electricity.
A new purpose for a wind farm
The Municipality of Ovalle, Chile. Punta de Talca Wind Farm has generated electricity since 2024, with an installed capacity of 83 MW.
Wind farms rely on varying weather conditions. Turbines can generate lots of electricity on windy days, but the demand for electricity does not rise at the same time.
This scenario presents a challenge for the electricity networks. Occasionally, the grid can’t take all the renewable electricity that is available. Such conditions could force operators to curtail generation even if turbines remain able to generate electricity.
Potentially useful electricity is wasted because the system can’t take it.
This step is especially important as countries become more dependent on renewable sources that rely on changing weather conditions.
Chile’s latest development tackles this problem by adding energy storage to an existing wind farm.
Why electricity storage is becoming important.
Sometimes, renewable energy production can be greater than the amount used at that time. At other times, demand is higher, and wind or solar generation may be lower.
When there is not enough storage, electricity systems need to find other ways to balance these differences.
Another option is Battery Energy Storage Systems, often called BESS. When supply is greater than demand, they absorb electricity, and when demand is greater than supply, they release it.
This means that renewable electricity can be stored for hours and used after the time it was originally produced. EDP has referred to this approach in its broader energy transition strategy.
Battery storage can be used to increase the flexibility of renewable energy systems.
The technology also has implications for electricity networks, which will need to accommodate growing amounts of renewable generation.
Instead of building new power stations, storage facilities can make existing renewable infrastructure work more effectively.
This is especially true during times of high demand when electricity consumption increases and a reliable supply is a must.
Punta de Talca adds battery storage of 240 MWh
The main development in Punta de Talca is EDP’s first battery storage complex in South America.
The company has invested about US$44 million to integrate the battery energy storage system with the existing wind farm.
How does the battery system work?
The plant has a storage capacity of 240 MWh and an annual average storage capacity of 60 GWh.
If the wind farm generates more power than the grid requires at that moment, the battery system can store the available energy.
The electricity produced can then be sent out when it’s needed.
The project was designed specifically to reduce curtailment at the wind farm. It also provides strong capacity to the Chilean electricity system.
The installation could power more than 30,000 homes in the region. The company also expects the project to reduce dependence on fossil fuels by improving the availability and flexibility of renewable electricity.
Another way of approaching renewable energy
Punta de Talca is an example of how battery storage can solve a practical problem with renewable energy. Power needs to be there when people want it, not just when the weather makes it possible to generate.
EDP combined an 83-MW wind farm with 240 MWh of storage to create a system that can better capture existing renewable generation.
The project is a major step in the company’s operation in South America.
New solar power technologies are altering the generation and management of renewable electricity as energy systems change.
Bronwyn has over 20 years of experience in media, digital publishing, and storytelling as a journalist, content creator, and publishing editor. She writes about various niches and has a keen interest in science, technology, energy, and innovation.
