Environmental Secretary Angélica Cuevas emphasized the project’s alignment with President José Antonio Kast’s administration priorities for expanding renewable energy presence in Ñuble and transforming Chile’s energy matrix through responsible natural resource utilization. The government framed the initiative as demonstrating economic growth compatibility with environmental protection through emissions reduction and sustainable development commitments.
The construction phase generated employment for 120 Pemuco residents, with regional Government Secretary Marco Muñoz highlighting the administration’s focus on projects that diversify the regional energy matrix while generating jobs. Project Manager Jennifer Mejías confirmed the current 82% completion status and Engie Chile’s ongoing commitment to energy transition objectives.
The Chequenes development forms part of Engie Chile’s broader transformation program, which by May 2026 included seven simultaneous renewable and storage projects under construction totaling $1.3 billion in investments and 1.1 GW of new clean energy capacity. The company reported all projects in its current construction portfolio had initiated energization processes within a three-month period, representing accelerated execution timelines for Chile’s energy sector.
Engie Chile’s renewable and storage capacity reached 1.5 GW with the February 2026 commissioning of the Tocopilla battery energy storage system. The company projects reaching 2.6 GW of operational renewable and storage capacity by early 2027, representing 70% of total installed capacity compared to just 1% in 2018. The portfolio transformation includes wind farms in Antofagasta and Ñuble, solar-plus-storage hybrid facilities in metropolitan Santiago, and battery systems across multiple northern regions.
This article was curated and published as part of our South American energy market coverage.
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