EL ROL DEL ALMACENAMIENTO ENERGÉTICO EN AMÉRICA LATINA: avances y retos en la región

The document examines energy storage as a structural resource for flexibility in Latin American electrical systems facing high penetration of variable renewable energy. It highlights that while Chile leads in battery deployment to manage curtailment, other countries like Colombia, Peru, and Brazil are at earlier stages, often focusing on reliability or specific industrial uses. The report argues that the primary barriers to deployment are institutional and regulatory rather than technological, and recommends shifting from a capacity-focused approach to a functional one that prioritizes specific flexibility needs.

• The primary obstacle to deploying energy storage in Latin America is institutional rather than technological, characterized by a lack of explicit recognition of flexibility as a system attribute and a disconnect between planning, regulation, and remuneration.
• Renewable energy curtailment has increased significantly in the Southern Cone; between 2022 and 2024, energy not utilized in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay reached approximately 40 TWh by 2024, with estimated economic costs of nearly USD 6.7 billion.
• Chile is the regional leader in electrochemical storage, with 1,405 MW of capacity and 6,043 MWh in operation as of November 2025, primarily using LFP batteries for intraday arbitrage and managing solar surpluses.
• In Colombia, energy storage is currently in an incipient stage with BESS capacity between 10–12 MW, and there are no operational pumped hydro storage (HPS) projects despite a potential that could reach 50% of its 13.2 GW hydroelectric capacity.
• Peru utilizes energy storage primarily as reliability infrastructure for isolated systems and industrial operations, with over 70 MW of capacity used for Primary Frequency Regulation in plants larger than 10 MW.
• Brazil's energy storage development is characterized by a strong historical reliance on hydroelectricity for flexibility, but it has significant untapped pumped hydro potential, including 21.1 GW in Rio de Janeiro and up to 735 GW theoretically in São Paulo.
• The average investment cost (CAPEX) for 4-hour BESS systems in Latin America and the Caribbean is USD 875.02 per kW, which is significantly higher than in China (USD 320/kW), the US (USD 560/kW), and the EU (USD 640/kW).
• The report recommends that regional energy planning shift from a capacity-centric approach to a functional one that identifies specific flexibility needs across short-term (frequency/ramps), medium-term (intraday shift/congestion), and long-term (seasonal resilience) horizons.

APA

Carrillo, D., Laima, O. H., & Klemas (2026). EL ROL DEL ALMACENAMIENTO ENERGÉTICO EN AMÉRICA LATINA: avances y retos en la región. Transforma. https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Policy-Brief-Almacenamiento-final.pdf

Chicago

Carrillo, Daniel, Oscar Hoyos Laima, and Klemas. EL ROL DEL ALMACENAMIENTO ENERGÉTICO EN AMÉRICA LATINA: avances y retos en la región. Transforma, 2026. https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Policy-Brief-Almacenamiento-final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Carrillo |first1=Daniel |last2=Laima |first2=Oscar Hoyos |last3=Klemas |title=EL ROL DEL ALMACENAMIENTO ENERGÉTICO EN AMÉRICA LATINA: avances y retos en la región |publisher=Transforma |date=March 2026 |url=https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Policy-Brief-Almacenamiento-final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carrillo2026rol, author = {Carrillo, Daniel and Laima, Oscar Hoyos and Klemas}, title = {{EL ROL DEL ALMACENAMIENTO ENERGÉTICO EN AMÉRICA LATINA: avances y retos en la región}}, institution = {Transforma}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Policy-Brief-Almacenamiento-final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }