South African grid operator Eskom plans to deploy 199MW/832MWh battery energy storage project

　　As one of the BRICS countries, South Africa has a vast territory and a large population, as well as a fairly good industrial base. With the increasing infrastructure construction and people's energy thirst, the South African government has increased the application of new energy in order to solve this problem, and has also increased the promotion of lithium battery energy storage systems. Of course, these systems also have the effect of reducing carbon emissions.

　　South African power grid operator Eskom said a few days ago that it plans to develop and deploy multiple battery energy storage systems with a total scale of 199MW/832MWh. The company is also considering another energy storage project that could be twice as large.

　　The company recently announced that it plans to develop and deploy a battery energy storage system (BESS) with a total scale of 199MW/832MWh in eight locations in South Africa, and has entered the final stage of negotiating the contract. Eskom said the battery storage systems will provide a four-hour-a-day peak shaving service as well as ancillary services and local support.

　　According to industry media reports, the energy storage projects that Eskom plans to develop are backed by a $58 million loan from the African Development Bank’s Clean Technology Fund. Eskom will own and operate the battery storage systems, while the storage system provider will provide fixed operations and maintenance (O&M) services for five years.

　　Adam Terry, technical director of South African independent power producer (IPP) Harmattan Renewables, which is partnering with the company, said this round of deployments could be seen as a kind of pilot, with Harmattan Renewables and Eskom able to sell at a discounted price in Pilot deployment of battery energy storage systems on the grid.

　　A new round of energy storage project purchases will take place in the coming months, Terry said. The project will also give independent power producers (IPPs) more control than a development bank-funded project in which Eskom sets norms.

　　He said, “We don’t know the specifics about these, but we expect to see more than 500MW of battery storage systems to be deployed in the coming months. The planning and deployment of these energy storage systems will all be led by independent power producers (IPPs), who are responsible for finding sites to develop, sizing, and what technology to use.”

　　Eskom tenders new renewable energy projects through the REIPPPP scheme. Its goal is to add 30GW of clean energy to the grid system by 2031, which will increase its share of renewable energy generation to more than 40%.

　　In addition to installing independent energy storage projects, Eskom also deploys energy storage systems in conjunction with renewable energy power generation projects. It is estimated that about 1GW of energy storage systems can enter the grid.

　　New technologies in the lithium battery industry emerge in an endless stream, such as the latest disruptive all-solid-state lithium batteries, sodium-ion batteries, 4680 lithium batteries, etc., which will accelerate the development of energy storage systems in the foreseeable future. Therefore, SES Power has launched 12V100Ah, 24V100Ah, 36V100Ah, 48V100Ah, household energy storage 3KW, 5KW systems, rack-mounted energy storage systems and other products using EVE, CATL, BYD square aluminum-shell lithium iron phosphate batteries. Of course, some customers are very concerned about the price/performance ratio, and we have also launched lithium iron phosphate batteries with great price advantages.