After planting Chile solar-storage flag, ContourGlobal mulls next steps – BNamericas

Posted on June 4, 2026 by Now.Solar

UK-registered independent power producer ContourGlobal has established a solid presence in Chile.
The company’s northern solar-storage portfolio is now fully operational.
Officials recently cut the ribbon on the Victor Jara plant in Iquique (231MW solar PV plus 1.3GWh storage), which has a 15-year nighttime-only power-purchase agreement with trader Copec EMOAC.
Victor Jara joins the Quillagua asset (221 MW solar PV and 1.2 GWh storage) in Antofagasta.
James Lee Stancampiano, the firm’s general manager for South America, told BNamericas that the central zone of Chile, private and regulated auctions and wind energy were blinking on its opportunity radar. 
BNamericas: ContourGlobal recently officially launched its Víctor Jara plant, which comprises a solar park and a long-duration energy storage system with a 6.5-hour injection capacity. For ContourGlobal, is long-duration storage the way forward?
Stancampiano: This project configuration was based on the specific requirements of our offtaker. [Such a decision] depends on requirements. 
So, basically, we will see in the future; it’s not something that we can decide on right now. 
What this project proved was that this [duration configuration] is technically possible.
BNamericas: Can you provide us with a little color on your plans in Chile?
Stancampiano: We’re looking mostly at the center of the country and in the south for our upcoming investments. We’re seeing a lot of requirements for final big consumption. We are looking to diversify our presence because we’re mainly based in the north. 
BNamericas: Could you tell us who future offtakers may be? Demand is a big theme in Chile at the moment.
Stancampiano: There are around 35TWh of new [power purchase agreements] PPAs [expected] in the coming years. These are mainly discos [distribution company contracts] and for sure mining companies. 
There are a lot of mining companies looking for energy for their expansion. They have contracts that are going to expire in the coming years, and they want to continue to contract renewable energy. 
So, there are a few interesting opportunities that we are looking at.
BNamericas: So, you’re potentially interested in the regulated PPAs?
Stancampiano: We will look at that. As I said, there are mining companies, traders, generators. We’re always open to explore opportunities with different kinds of offtakers. So not just disco.
BNamericas: What about the data center segment? And are we talking about short, medium or long-term opportunities here?
Stancampiano: For sure it’s on our radar, but so far, Chile is not competitive if we look at other countries such as the US or Brazil. We expect that in the upcoming years, maybe three, five years, we can see a big data center consumption. But it’s not for tomorrow. We’re always monitoring this.
BNamericas: Any final words?
Stancampiano: Chile is one of our most important countries where we would like to invest in. So specifically in this period, we see it as a very attractive market.
As ContourGlobal, we will continue to invest in solar plus BESS. And we’re evaluating some wind investments. 
(The original version of this content was written in English)
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BNamericas chats to James Lee Stancampiano, general manager for South America at independent power producer ContourGlobal.
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