Grenergy secures $270m to expand Chile’s Oasis de Atacama batteries

• Grenergy closed a USD 270m non-recourse loan to add 3.5 GWh of batteries in phase six of the Oasis de Atacama hybrid in northern Chile.

Grenergy has lined up fresh firepower for one of the world’s landmark solar-plus-storage builds. The Spanish developer closed a USD 270 million non-recourse package to fund the sixth phase of its Oasis de Atacama project in northern Chile—money that lets it start installing batteries immediately while also covering part of last year’s asset purchase tied to the site. The facility, a mix of term loan and revolving line of credit, was underwritten by a lender group led by SMBC, with BNP Paribas Securities Corp, BBVA and KfW joining the syndicate. Renewables Now

Phase six—dubbed “Elena”—will ultimately combine 446 MW of solar with 3.5 GWh of battery energy storage. The site already has 77 MW of PV in operation, acquired from Repsol and Grupo Ibereólica as part of a larger expansion that folded existing capacity into the Oasis umbrella. The new debt means Grenergy can begin installing batteries now to absorb daytime solar and shift it into the evening peak, with controls configured to also charge opportunistically from the grid when economics warrant.

Oasis de Atacama is being built in multiple tranches and is slated to reach around 2 GW of PV and 11 GWh of storage at full build-out—placing it among the largest hybrid fleets anywhere. Recent milestones include a 3.5 GWh BESS supply deal with BYD Energy Storage and nearly USD 1 billion of earlier project finance across the first four phases, underscoring growing lender comfort with co-located storage in Chile.

Grenergy has also been rotating capital as the project scales. Earlier this month, it agreed to sell the fourth phase (“Gabriela”) to a fund managed by CVC DIF, while retaining operations and maintenance for five years—an asset-light approach that recycles proceeds into construction.

Why it matters: northern Chile’s grids are rich in midday solar and historically prone to curtailment. Multi-hour batteries turn that surplus into dispatchable evening capacity and provide fast-response services that stabilize a system with rising variable generation. With the latest financing closed, phase six moves from blueprint to build, pushing Oasis closer to its megaproject target and signaling sustained institutional appetite for hybrids that earn across energy, capacity and ancillary markets.