Saft wins French Neoen storage gig

• The 8MW project will certainly be co-located with a solar farm in Antugnac

Battery producer Saft has been acquired by Neoen to supply a turnkey 8MW/8 megawatt-hour energy storage system (ESS) in Antugnac, southerly France.

The facility will be the initial co-located ESS and also solar farm connected to RTE's high-voltage transmission grid in France.

It is expected to supply frequency law services to enable Neoen to meet its legal dedications under RTE's Long Term Call for Tenders scheme (AOLT).

Saft is constructing the new ESS on an EPC basis, with completion scheduled for spring 2022, within 10 months of agreement finalizing.

The storage will offer Neoen with functional flexibility, future-proofing the profitability of the investment.

This is supported by a lasting end-to-end solution contract that offers Neoen with flexible performance warranties for 15 years, consisting of assured aging and also schedule, as well as handling of the asset end of life and recycling.

Neoen French development supervisor Guillaume Decaen stated: "Neoen is the leading French independent producer of renewable energy as well as a significant player on the world stage.

" We are going for more than 10GW in operation or under construction by 2025, and can just do that by establishing assets that provide worth over the long term.

" We currently have a number of ESS in operation, and we have selected Saft to supply the Antugnac project as a result of its deep expertise of battery innovation as well as tried and tested experience in energy storage around the world, its ability to manage a total EPC range including civil works and grid connection demands from project beginning to end-of-life dismantling, and also crucially due to the fact that the efficiency is assured throughout the lifetime of the asset."

The ESS includes four Intensium Max 20 containers, power conversion innovation, control and SCADA systems.

Saft will certainly offer engineering, manufacturing, building as well as integration of the system into the transmission grid, in addition to delivering solution assistance from Bordeaux, one its three international ESS centers.

It will largely supply frequency guideline solutions under the seven-year AOLT contract granted to Neoen, but will certainly additionally be made use of for additional solutions to optimize revenue over the coming 15-years.

Saft executive vice president for power storage options Herve Amosse said: "Neoen is one of the globe's leading and also most skilled programmers of wind and solar plants with battery storage, able to take application opportunities on advancing power markets.

" Winning the Antugnac agreement, providing the turnkey EPC project and also linking the ESS to the French transmission grid demonstrates Saft's capability to provide cost-effective power storage options with its Intensium Max battery.

" Our product or services match the flexibility as well as efficiency demands of Neoen to operate its asset successfully throughout the project life."