CHILE · ENERGY
Key Facts
- The country Chile is a mining country whose northern Atacama Desert gets very strong sunshine, so solar farms and big batteries are spreading across the region.
- Why it matters SQM, the lithium, iodine and nitrate producer whose American depositary shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange, will power part of its operations with its own solar park and batteries.
- Why now A regional environmental commission in Antofagasta approved both projects unanimously on Friday 30 October 2026.
- What happened Two solar parks with battery storage worth US$688 million were cleared in María Elena: Grenergy’s Elena 2 at US$577 million and an SQM park at US$111 million.
- The numbers Elena 2 pairs 566.58 MWp of panels with a 430 MW battery of about 3,010 MWh, while the SQM park has 76.5 MWp of panels and 320 MWh of batteries.
- What it means for you A steadier power supply for SQM’s northern plants bears on the cost of the lithium, iodine and nitrates that US industry buys.
- Still open Construction dates for SQM’s park and whether anyone challenges the approvals are not yet known.
- Power Index Chile ranks 3rd of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 63.6 points (October 2026 edition).
In Plain English
SQM, short for Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile, is a Chilean chemicals and mining company that produces lithium, iodine and nitrates. MWp means megawatts peak, the most power solar panels can deliver in ideal sun, while MWh measures how much energy a battery can store.
The SEA, or Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental, is the Chilean agency that runs environmental permitting for large projects. A Declaration of Environmental Impact, known as a DIA, is the review route for projects whose owners say they cause no significant environmental harm.
A regional environmental commission in Chile’s Antofagasta region unanimously approved two solar parks with battery storage worth US$688 million on Friday 30 October 2026, and one of them belongs to SQM, the lithium, iodine and nitrate producer listed in New York. The projects are Elena 2, a US$577 million plant by Spain’s Grenergy, and a US$111 million park in the María Elena commune that SQM will use mainly to power its Coya Sur plant.
Chile’s environmental assessment service, the SEA, said Elena 2 cleared review in 268 days, 33% faster than the 2025 average for this type of filing, and the SQM park in 304 days, 24% faster. Both went through a Declaration of Environmental Impact, a short-form review used for projects whose owners say they cause no significant environmental harm.
SQM Builds Solar and Batteries at Coya Sur
SQM’s park will have 76.5 megawatts peak (MWp) of panels and a lithium battery system of 320 megawatt-hours (MWh) able to deliver 20 megawatts for 16 hours straight. A seven-kilometer line will link it to an existing substation, and the power is meant mainly for the Coya Sur plant, with the option to sell to the national grid if needed.
SQM’s filing, quoted in a March 2026 SEA resolution, says the project aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions and improve the energy security of its operations through a continuous and stable electricity supply. Coya Sur is the SQM site that the company lists as producing sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate and solar salts.
Grenergy’s Elena 2 Is the Larger Project
Elena 2 combines 906,528 panels of 625 watts peak each, for 566.58 MWp installed, with a 430 megawatt battery of about 3,010 MWh, equal to seven hours of storage. It will cover 895 hectares about 60 kilometers northwest of Calama and send power over a 21.89-kilometer line to the Kimal substation, which a third party owns.
The SEA record shows that Grenergy’s Chilean unit, GR Cabo de Hornos SpA, filed Elena 2 on 30 January 2026 and that it was admitted for review on 4 February. The filing estimated that construction would begin in July 2027, last about 20 months and lead to operation in April 2029, according to pv magazine Latinoamérica.
Related coverage includes Grenergy’s earlier Chile solar and storage financing and the Rio Times lithium market report on SQM shares. SQM’s own park is far smaller, at 76.5 MWp, but it is the part of the approval that serves a listed Chilean exporter directly.
How the Review Went
In March 2026 the SEA’s Antofagasta office rejected a request by the Cielos de Chile foundation to open a citizen-participation process on the SQM project. The law requires at least two organizations with legal personality or ten directly affected individuals, and only one organization had asked.
SQM has a second similar park, also valued at US$111 million, in Pozo Almonte in the Tarapacá region, which CNN Chile reports was filed in December 2025 and is suspended. That project was not part of the 30 October approval.
What It Means for You
SQM’s American depositary shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange, and this approval clears the environmental permit for a park that would give one of its nitrate plants its own solar and battery power. SQM’s own operations page lists potassium nitrate, a fertilizer, among the products of Coya Sur.
US buyers of nitrates, iodine and lithium depend on steady output from SQM’s northern plants, and its own power can reduce exposure to grid prices. No cost saving appears in the reporting on the approval, so any effect on prices remains unquantified.
What Is Not Known
Construction start and completion dates for SQM’s park were not given in the reporting on the approval. The US$111 million figure is an investment estimate from the filing, and one Chilean trade outlet rounds it to US$110 million.
Whether any group challenges the approvals is not known, and the commission’s written resolutions, which set the conditions of each approval, are not described in the coverage. Elena 2’s schedule comes from its February filing and may change after approval.
How much of the Coya Sur plant’s electricity the park will cover is not stated in the reporting, and the filing leaves the sale of surplus power to the national grid as an option. The Pozo Almonte park remains suspended, with no date for a decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Chile approve for SQM on 30 October 2026?
A regional commission approved SQM’s US$111 million solar park with 320 megawatt-hours of batteries at its Coya Sur plant. It also approved Grenergy’s US$577 million Elena 2 park, bringing the total to US$688 million.
Is SQM stock traded in the United States?
SQM’s American depositary shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SQM. Each depositary share represents one Series B share, according to the company’s annual report on Form 20-F.
What does SQM’s Coya Sur plant make?
SQM lists sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate and solar salts as Coya Sur products. The new park is meant mainly to supply that plant, with batteries able to deliver 20 megawatts for 16 hours.
How big is the Elena 2 solar park?
Elena 2 has 566.58 megawatts peak of panels and a 430 megawatt battery of about 3,010 megawatt-hours. It will cover 895 hectares about 60 kilometers northwest of Calama.
Will the SQM park sell power to the grid?
The park is meant mainly to supply SQM’s Coya Sur plant. The filing also allows power to be injected into the national grid if needed.
Sources: SEA Antofagasta resolution on citizen participation, SQM solar park, March 2026; SEA Antofagasta resolution on the evaluation period, Elena 2 solar park, 2026; SQM, Our Operations page, accessed 31 October 2026; SQM annual report on Form 20-F for 2025 (cover page, copy of the SEC filing); CNN Chile, 30 October 2026; La Tercera, 30 October 2026; Nuevo Poder, 30 October 2026; Electromineria, 30 October 2026; pv magazine Latinoamérica, 3 February 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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