Embattled power utility Eskom has awarded two contracts to two successful bidders to provide battery storage solutions for the power utility’s flagship Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), which is expected to inject at least 1 440MW of power to the grid.
The power utility said on Friday the contracts were awarded to Hyosung Heavy Industries and Pinggoao Group, for design, supply and installation, as well as operating maintenance for five years.
This is in line with the utility’s plans to pursue renewable energy sources and bring fruitation to the 500MW Bess initiative which was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa as part of government’s effort to deal with the power crisis in the country.
Eskom chief executive officer Andre de Ruiter said the development demonstrates the power utility’s determination to find a long and lasting solution to the power crisis.
“The project is one of many ways Eskom can partner with various players in finding alternative, innovative and lasting solutions and is also consistent with Eskom’s Just Energy Transition (JET) strategy, and storage is one of the key initiatives to assist in addressing the country’s electricity’s challenges in the long-term,” de Ruiter said.
Eskom said that it has envisioned those gains from the Bess project will help ease the pressure on the national electricity grid. “The project will be used primarily for national peak shaving (managing demand) purposes for four hours a day for at least 250 days of the year. It will also be used secondarily for ancillary services and local network support.
“There are also several technical applications and benefits that will be quantified over time. Charging the batteries will take place during off-peak periods or when the network conditions permit.”
Eskom added that the Bess project will be implemented in two phases. “Phase 1 includes the installation of approximately 199MW additional capacity. With four hours of storage, this equals 833MWhstorage of distributed battery storage plants at eight Eskom Distribution sites. This phase also includes about 2MW od solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity.
“Phase 2 includes the installation of a total of 144MW which is equivalent to 616MWhat four Eskom Distribution sites and one Transmission site. The solar PV capacity in this phase is 58MW,” Eskom said.
Source: SA News, The Citizen, Times Live, image from Twitter: Business Day