Akuo bags 6-MW energy storage project in Tonga

• French renewable energy producer Akuo Energy said Friday it has secured a contract to construct in Tonga a power storage system with a capacity of 23.4 MWh/6 MW.

The organization will be in charge of the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of this Tonga 2 facility under a contract signed in November with grid operator Tonga Power Ltd. It's also involved with the execution of this Tonga 1 energy storage endeavor, of 5 MW/10 MW. Both are scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2020.

Tonga requires the battery storage capacity to increase the share of renewables in the archipelago's mix and reduce diesel consumption. Renewables currently account for just 10%, coming from 5.6 MW of solar and wind systems, but the objective is to bring that to 50% following year.

Together with Tonga 1, the nation aims to enhance grid stability, while Tonga 2 will be utilized for load shifting.

Akuo won the Tonga two contract in a call for tender launched by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Tonga Power. The project is part of this USD-53-million (EUR 47.8m) Tonga Renewable Energy Project, financed by the Green Climate Fund, ADB, Tonga Power along with the authorities of Tonga and Australia.