South Africa's Eskom verifies agreement awards for 1,440 MWh battery storage

• South Africa's primary power provider Eskom has actually revealed information of honest significant battery storage implementations, including project sites and sizes.

The utility as well as electricity grid operator stated on Friday (31 July) that it intends to have the initial 343MW of a 500MW national power storage rollout announced by South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa online by December 2024.

Eskom chose 2 battery power storage system (BESS) providers, South Korea's Hyosung Heavy Industries and also Chinese company Pinggao Group, from bidders in an affordable solicitation process.

The 343MW of BESS will certainly be four-hour duration, meaning a total amount of 1,440 MWh capacity. The systems will be constructed in two phases. Phase 1 will certainly see 199MW/833MWh of battery storage constructed, along with 2MW of solar PV, while Phase 2 will certainly see 144MW/616MWh of BESS mounted along with 58MW of solar PV.

As reported by Energy-Storage. news in March when Eskom stated it was in the process of finalising Phase 1 agreement conversations, the battery storage systems will aid manage peak load on the electricity network, in addition to giving various other applications like ancillary services.

In April, Hyosung revealed that it had obtained an Eskom letter of approval for a different 48MW/192MWh project near the city of Durban.

The rollout is being economically sustained by groups consisting of the World Bank and the African Development Bank, the latter supplying US$ 58 million support.

Projects will certainly be sited at remote areas with restricted access to the electricity distribution network, but which are nonetheless not far from renewable energy plants run by independent power producers (IPPs).

Eskom defined the buildout as a flagship proof-of-concept programme for the role of batteries on the South African grid in making it possible for the integration of large-scale solar PV as well as wind right into the power mix, while enhancing network security, reliability and security of supply.

The utility will certainly likewise build a research and development as well as testing centre for battery storage systems in Rosherville, Gauteng province.

Phase 1 will certainly see BESS released at 8 sites, with systems ranging from 1.54 MW/6.16 MWh for the tiniest and 80MW/320MWh at the largest, to be commissioned by the end of June 2023.

Phase 2 consists of installations at four sites, ranging from 17MW/68MWh to 70MW/280MWh, for completion by December 2024.

It is well-documented that maintaining lights on in the country has been a difficulty for Eskom and also South African authorities. One big action currently taken by Eskom was the launch of supposed Risk Mitigation Power Procurement Programme tenders, whereby it has contracted for power from dispatchable resources, including natural gas and also a considerable volume of solar-plus-storage projects.

Of the overall 2GW granted via that tender process, around 430MW/1,300 MWh of power storage paired with renewables was included. Its greatest victor, Norwegian renewable energy designer Scatec, just recently started deal with a granted 540MW of solar PV and 225MW/1,140 MWh of battery storage, Energy-Storage. news reported a number of weeks back.

Eskom group chief executive André de Ruyter described power storage as one of the "key initiatives to assist in resolving the nation's electrical energy obstacles in the lasting," and also fitting the aims of South Africa's long-term Integrated Resource Plan.