ENGIE Chile puts a 142 MW, 802 MWh battery into service on a former coal complex site
Serguey Asael Shinder2 min readENGIE Chile has started commercial operation of BESS Lile, a stand-alone battery system at the Mejillones energy complex in the Antofagasta region, and says this completes the first stage of the complex's conversion.
The system. BESS Lile has 142 MW of power and 802 MWh of storage, with discharge of up to five hours. It consists of 160 battery containers and 40 items of supporting electrical equipment, and cost 174 million US dollars. Chile's system coordinator, the Coordinador Eléctrico Nacional, authorised commercial operation on 25 September. ENGIE says five hours of output is equivalent to the consumption of more than 84,000 homes.
Reuse of the site. The battery uses infrastructure originally intended for an expansion of thermal generation at Mejillones — the interconnection substation, internal areas and roads. The complex is in transition: on 31 December ENGIE disconnected the coal units CTM1 and CTM2 after almost 30 years and began converting the Infraestructura Energética Mejillones (IEM) plant to natural gas, which is awaiting commercial operation. The company plans to retire the coal units Andina (CTA) and Hornitos (CTH) later, describing a gradual exit designed to protect system stability.
The portfolio. BESS Lile is ENGIE Chile's fifth storage system to enter commercial operation in 2026, bringing its installed battery capacity to 803 MW. Earlier this year the company brought BESS Arica (25 MW / 150 MWh) into commercial operation, and before that BESS Tocopilla (116 MW / 660 MWh), also at a former thermal complex.
Why it matters. ENGIE describes Lile as a stand-alone system that stores energy and delivers it to the national system according to its needs, adding flexibility to a grid that is integrating more renewable generation.
Source: ENGIE Chile, "Concluimos la primera etapa de la reconversión del Complejo Energético Mejillones" — https://www.engie.cl/concluimos-la-primera-etapa-de-la-reconversion-del-complejo-energetico-mejillones/