daily · Energy Storage

ENGIE Chile reports commercial operation of 142 MW, 802 MWh BESS Lile

The October 8 company release describes a stand-alone battery at Mejillones that reuses existing power-complex infrastructure. Commercial-operation authorization was granted September 25; this is not a new October 11 authorization.

By Greener Numbers Editorial Team · Published October 11, 2026 · Updated 10/11/2026

ENGIE Chile said October 8 that BESS Lile had begun commercial operation at the Mejillones Energy Complex in Chile's Antofagasta region. The company describes a stand-alone battery system with 142 megawatts of power and 802 megawatt-hours of energy-storage capacity. Power and stored energy are different measures and should not be added together.

The release says Chile's national electricity coordinator authorized commercial operation on September 25. The October 8 announcement and subsequent trade coverage do not make that authorization an October 11 event. ENGIE reports an investment of US$174 million for the project.

BESS Lile connects independently to the grid and can store electricity for delivery when the national system needs it. ENGIE describes discharge autonomy of up to five hours. That company description is not a promise of five hours at every operating condition or an independently verified performance test.

The project reuses infrastructure originally intended for thermal-generation expansion at the Mejillones complex. ENGIE names the interconnection substation, internal areas and roads among the existing assets put to new use. Its release lists 160 battery containers and 40 supporting electrical units.

ENGIE says BESS Lile is its fifth storage system to begin commercial operation during 2026 and brings its installed battery power capacity to 803 megawatts. These are company portfolio figures, not the battery's individual energy capacity. The release places the project within the complex's continuing conversion away from coal, including a separate gas conversion awaiting commercial operation.

Limits: this brief reports the company's announcement and the dated authorization it describes. It does not establish independently measured availability, household electricity bills or emissions savings. Ongoing conversion work at the wider complex should not be confused with completion of every coal-unit retirement.

Disclosure: This brief is derived from the linked original source and is not the original source itself.

Official source: engie.cl ↗