Chile's Ministry of Housing and Urbanism issued the Circular of the Urban Development Division, Circular Ord. No. 101, DDU 522 on March 14, 2025. This order establishes the urban planning regulations applicable to projects involving pure or isolated electrochemical energy storage systems using batteries.
Top points of the order include:
- The land use regulation for pure or isolated energy storage systems using battery technology falls under the "Energy Infrastructure" category, as indicated in Article 2.1.29 of the General Ordinance of Urbanism and Construction (OGUC, for its Spanish translation).
- Battery systems cannot be classified as networks or routes under Article 2.1.29 of the OGUC. Therefore, the regulations for facilities or buildings for infrastructure use will apply, and their location will be governed by the relevant territorial planning instrument.
- Projects involving pure or isolated energy storage systems using battery technology generally do not require a building permit, as the battery systems themselves are not considered buildings. However, a building permit may be necessary if the project includes complementary work (eg, porters' lodges, warehouses, and offices, among others).
- Projects located in rural areas require authorizations under Article 55 of the General Law of Urbanism and Constructions. If the rural area is regulated by an Intercommunal or Metropolitan Regulatory Plan, the facilities or buildings will be subject to the provisions established by the competent authorities. These will be classified as equipment if they do not include productive processes; if they do, they will be considered as an industry.
- According to DDU 522, these projects do not include transformation processes and therefore would not require the industrial technical qualification issued by the Regional Ministerial Secretariat of Health (SEREMI of Health, for its Spanish translation).
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