Five trends that are redefining energy storage in Latin America according to SMA

Energy storage is rapidly transforming the energy market in Chile and Latin America. This evolution also entails new demands for technologies and their suppliers. It is no longer enough to simply assess how many MW or MWh a battery can deliver; it has become crucial to analyze how it responds to disturbances, how it interacts with the grid, what services it can provide, and how it maintains its performance throughout its lifespan.

A technical benchmark developed for BESS utility-scale projects in Brazil allows us to identify five trends that are marking this transformation and that are beginning to acquire special relevance in markets such as Chile.

Energy storage is playing an increasingly active role in the grid . For years, the main value of an energy storage system was associated with the temporary displacement of energy. Today, its function extends to the complementary services it provides, where aspects such as voltage and frequency control become especially relevant for responding quickly to changes in the operation of a system with a high penetration of variable renewable generation.

Chile is a prime example of this transformation. The country already boasts a large-scale energy storage portfolio exceeding 10 GW—including projects in operation, under construction, and in development—according to figures from ACERA, the Chilean Renewable Energy and Storage Association. As this capacity continues to grow, so does the importance of these assets providing performance that contributes to the security and flexibility of the National Electric System.

Grid Forming moves from innovation to application. Unlike traditional inverters, Grid Forming inverters can actively establish and maintain voltage and frequency variables to synchronize with the grid. This enables a dynamic response to disturbances and provides features such as inverter-based inertia, voltage support, oscillation damping, and strengthening of weak grids.

The advancement of this technology is already well-established in Chile. Just this past May, the National Electric Coordinator published a specific guide for verifying installations based on Grid Forming inverters, aimed at evaluating the effective performance of these capabilities within the National Electric System. This development reflects a significant shift: Grid Forming is becoming a central element, a feature that must be evaluated, verified, and adapted to the specific needs of each electrical system.

Grid codes are raising the bar for performance . New requirements increasingly consider equipment response under demanding conditions, including Fault Ride Through (FRT), Low Voltage Ride Through (LVRT), High Voltage Ride Through (HVRT), voltage and frequency variations, and other dynamic phenomena. While each market has its own regulatory and operational characteristics, a common trend exists: BESS (Power System Energy Storage) units must demonstrate not only energy capacity but also appropriate performance under real-world grid conditions.

The complete solution becomes increasingly important. Integration between power converters, batteries, plant controllers, transformers, protection systems, communications, and control systems is fundamental to achieving the expected performance. In this context, large-scale integrated solutions become especially valuable, as they ensure consistency between engineering, simulation models, firmware, commissioning, and the actual operation of the asset.

This comprehensive approach is also key for new Grid Forming applications. Performance depends not only on the inverter's declared capacity, but also on the design of the entire system, the accuracy of its models, and the experience required to adapt and validate its behavior under the specific conditions of each network.

Finally, as a fifth point, the efficiency of a BESS must be measured throughout its entire lifecycle . In addition to efficiency curves under different load levels, it is necessary to consider system losses, auxiliary power consumption, and performance evolution over the years of operation. This perspective allows us to move from an evaluation focused on nominal conditions to a long-term view: how efficiently a system can operate throughout its useful life and how much value it can deliver sustainably.

Energy Storage Systems (ESS) are no longer just energy storage systems; they are assets capable of actively contributing to grid stability and flexibility. Chile is once again making rapid progress in this direction, both in the growth of its storage portfolio and in the development of technical criteria to verify grid-forming capabilities. The challenge now is to ensure that the integration of these new assets is accompanied by integrated technological solutions, expertise in electrical systems, specialized engineering, and support throughout the entire lifecycle.

The evolution of energy storage, in short, presents a new paradigm for the industry: is it enough to know how much energy a battery can store? The answer is no: the real value lies in identifying how much it can contribute to the grid when it needs it most.