Santa Marta Landfill Adds 40 MWh Battery Storage to Expand Biogas Power Contribution in Chile

The Santa Marta facility operates a network of more than 600 extraction wells capturing methane from decomposing municipal solid waste generated by 3.2 million residents in southern Santiago. The captured biogas feeds ten synchronized generator units with combined capacity of 20 MW, injecting power directly into Chile’s Sistema Eléctrico Nacional. Monthly generation averages 8,500 MWh, according to company disclosures. The incoming battery system addresses grid curtailment by storing surplus generation for delayed dispatch, a constraint that currently limits full utilization of available gas volumes.

The site has qualified projects under Chile’s carbon tax compensation mechanism, enabling industrial emitters to offset obligations through certified reductions. Giselle Carrasco Pineda, environment and sustainability deputy manager at Consorcio Santa Marta, emphasized that the facility’s role in energy transition remains underrecognized in public policy frameworks despite sustained operational performance and regulatory compliance. The landfill holds ISO 14001 environmental management and OHSAS 18001 safety certifications and was the first dry landfill facility commissioned in Chile when operations started in 2002.

Santa Marta receives approximately 30% of the Metropolitan Region’s municipal waste across 16 communes served via the Puerta Sur transfer station in San Bernardo. The site encompasses 296 hectares with 87.6 hectares allocated to waste disposal. Infrastructure includes a lixiviate treatment plant processing over three million tonnes of organic liquid waste since inception, and a dedicated unit for healthcare waste disposal authorized in 2015. An environmental impact study filed in 2025 proposes extending operational life by 30 years on an adjacent 460-hectare parcel, with new disposal area covering 147 hectares.

The facility faced regulatory and community scrutiny following a January 2016 incident when a landslide of approximately 200,000 cubic meters of waste preceded a fire affecting roughly one-tenth of the active disposal area. The event triggered air quality advisories across Santiago and led to temporary operational suspensions ordered by the Environmental Court. Chile’s Superintendence of the Environment subsequently filed charges and in 2023 imposed financial penalties related to environmental damage. The company maintains that geomembrane liner systems and lixiviate infrastructure were not compromised during the event.