Sigenergy is preparing to expand its participation in the Latin American battery energy storage market. This was explained by Ricardo Poveda, Sigenergy's Solution Manager for Central America and the Caribbean, in an exclusive interview with Energía Estratégica during The smarter E South America 2026, held in conjunction with Intersolar South America in Brazil.
During the exhibition, Sigenergy presented its new product line, which includes the second-generation NEO residential solutions and SigenTerra, its proposal for the utility-scale storage segment.
“We have some pretty big battery and inverter projects underway. In a few months, we'll be launching SigenTerra, and then we'll be making a strong entry into the utility-scale segment,” the executive anticipated.
The move will allow the firm to extend its offering to power plants and large-scale storage projects, without abandoning a C&I market that is beginning to demand increasingly flexible solutions.
Why now? Batteries are ceasing to occupy a complementary place in Latin American electrical systems to become a central piece of new tenders, expansion plans and energy regulations.
By mid-2025, Latin America and the Caribbean had approximately 2.7 GW of operational storage capacity , including batteries, pumped storage, and other technologies, according to OLADE. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) accounted for about 1.68 GW, equivalent to 62.7% of the regional total .
The organization estimates that the region could need around 24 GW of storage by 2030 and 46 GW by 2035. This would imply multiplying by 14 the BESS capacity recorded in 2025 and mobilizing investments of close to USD 24 billion before the end of the decade.
But the expansion is no longer just in projections. Bidding processes are already setting minimum storage requirements for generation projects, as is the case in calls for tenders in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.
In the Southern Cone, Chile has 10.84 GW of storage capacity among operational, testing and construction projects, while also accumulating another 29 GW in different stages of environmental assessment.
Brazil is also preparing to hold its first stand-alone BESS auctions in December, while the Energy Research Company registered almost 297 GW of projects interested in participating .
Brazil becomes a strategic market for expansion
In addition to its strong focus on Central America and the Caribbean, Sigenergy is strengthening its presence in Brazil. The company will seek to compete in both the residential and commercial segments, rather than limiting its strategy solely to residential products.
Following their presentation at Intersolar South America, Sigenergy's second-generation NEO residential products are scheduled to officially launch in Brazil in November. SigenTerra, meanwhile, will allow the company to expand its offering as the Brazilian market begins to develop opportunities for larger-scale battery projects.
It is on this expansion that Sigenergy seeks to position its new solutions. And it is not an isolated case, as major energy providers are expanding their portfolios to cover residential, commercial, industrial, and utility-scale applications, while increasing the capacity and energy density of the systems.
According to Poveda, this transformation can be observed in the leap made by large-scale solutions, with ever-increasing energy densities and “smarter” products.
“Each edition of The smarter E South America allows us to observe the constant evolution of the sector. Last year, for example, the boom was focused on 5 MWh containers, while now we are talking about 6.25 MWh solutions,” he emphasized.
The company is also incorporating artificial intelligence into its customer service ecosystem through Sigen AI. According to Sigenergy, the assistant can answer virtually any query related to its products and even hold informal conversations about everyday topics, such as the weather.
Panama could accelerate its adoption by 2027
Panama appears as one of the markets with the potential to lead the next stage of regional growth, although it presents a different situation. The country already recognizes energy storage in provisions related to transmission and the wholesale market, but its latest tenders did not require batteries or explicitly compensate for attributes such as flexibility and reliability.
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Their roadmap includes four processes between 2026 and 2028. In addition, they are working on designing a call for proposals that will allow BESS systems to compete within the current framework and assess their contribution to power, flexibility, and operational stability.
However, it still needs commercial rules that allow all those services to be transformed into predictable revenue, according to Sigenergy.
Poveda believes that one of the main barriers is the lack of confidence among companies to move forward with large-scale investments. Therefore, the emergence of a benchmark project that demonstrates technical and economic results could become the starting point for faster expansion.
“When a Panamanian company is recognized for a very large project that is generating good income, then the boom will come,” he stated.
When will that milestone occur? The executive estimates that this takeoff could happen during 2027 .
To achieve this, it will be necessary for the first interested companies to finalize their investments and demonstrate that the solutions work under the particular conditions of the Panamanian market.
Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala are among the priority countries for the company's expansion. Guatemala already has company facilities, which provides a precedent that the company seeks to leverage to support its regional strategy.
The company also has fully established local teams in Mexico and Chile, from where it provides comprehensive sales and end-to-end support services. This presence is part of a broader regional strategy aimed at supporting projects throughout their development and operation.
Regulation and revenue: the keys to unlocking investments
However, there is a strategic factor that should not be overlooked: the executive considers it necessary to "promote tenders similar to those developed in other Central American markets."
Technological growth alone is not enough. According to Poveda, Central America and the Caribbean need to make progress in education, regulation, and hiring mechanisms.
Regional markets are taking different paths. Guatemala incorporated hybrid projects into a long-term tender; Honduras included a minimum battery requirement in its process; Costa Rica enabled technical conditions for connecting storage at medium and high voltage; and the Dominican Republic requires four hours of battery storage in the projects of its renewable energy call.
In the Dominican Republic, the first tender received bids for 1,655 MWp , compared to a demand of 600 MW, and awarded 325.69 MW . Authorities are preparing a new call for bids to cover the remaining volume, another aimed at incorporating 200 MW of BESS (Bulk Energy Storage System) into existing solar plants, and an expression of interest for 1,200 MWh .
These processes are also beginning to create contracts capable of supporting larger-scale investments. However, the regional challenge remains defining who pays for the availability, power, arbitrage, and ancillary services provided by the batteries.
“With batteries we can make money not only through energy generation, but also by giving more stability to the system,” Poveda said.
This variety of services opens the door to new revenue streams. However, for these to be realized, regulatory frameworks must recognize and adequately compensate the value that storage provides.
With the upcoming launch of SigenTerra and the planned commercialization of its second-generation NEO products in Brazil, Sigenergy aims to position itself within this transformation. The company intends to address opportunities in the residential, commercial, industrial, and utility-scale segments, supported by a growing local presence in Latin America.
From that base, it will seek to move towards larger-scale projects in a region that is beginning to turn its storage projections into tenders, contracts and concrete rules.