On Wednesday, October 1, the CEO of EDF power solutions Chile, Joan Leal, took part in the tenth edition of the “Energy Week,” organized by the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE). The event was held in Santiago from September 30 to October 3, 2025.
Consolidated as the most important gathering of the energy sector in Latin America and the Caribbean, the event brought together ministers from 27 member countries, authorities, experts, companies, and academic representatives. It served as a strategic platform for analyzing trends, promoting regional cooperation, and fostering business opportunities in the context of the energy transition.
Joan was a panelist in the session “The Storage Revolution,” which featured the participation of Chile’s Minister of Energy, Diego Pardow; the Executive Secretary of the National Energy Commission, Marco Mancilla; and several regional experts. The session highlighted Chile’s leadership in developing energy storage capacity — a key technology for deepening the energy transition by enabling the integration of new renewable generation projects and strengthening the flexibility and resilience of power systems. In fact, Minister Pardow referred to the challenge of determining the exact amount of storage capacity under construction, given the continuous approval of new projects every week, the most recent being the BESS Dune battery project — set to become the largest in the country — which EDF power solutions is promoting through Generadora Metropolitana. “This project will enable CODELCO to have a 100% renewable electricity supply, representing a major step in its decarbonization process,” Joan emphasized.
Joan also underscored the importance of having storage capacity to reduce curtailment issues and manage the price differential between day and night. However, he also pointed out the challenges that the rapid increase in BESS systems is creating for system operations. “While the fast expansion of BESS systems is positive, it is necessary to properly address the determination of the opportunity cost of these assets, ensure their efficient participation in ancillary services, and move toward a modern regulatory framework that allows us to fully leverage the contribution of batteries and other emerging technologies.”
