Renewable energy power producer Scatec has signed power purchase agreements (PPA) for three co-located solar and storage projects with 1.1GWh of energy storage in South Africa.
The Norway-based company has signed the PPAs for the three Kenhardt projects in Northern Cape. The projects are providing dispatchable energy resources to grid operator ESKOM to help reduce shortfalls in capacity on the grid, procured under the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP).
Scatec’s three projects, which pair 540MW of solar PV with 1.1GWh of battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity, will provide 150MW of dispatchable energy from 5 a.m. to 9.30 p.m. The BESS will enable the flexible dispatch of energy and allow ESKOM and Scatec to reduce the size of the grid connection needed to integrate the new resources.
The company’s announcement does not spell out the power of the BESS, while an announcement last year when it was awarded preferred bidder status said it would be a 225MW system.
Some 200MW/832MWh of standalone BESS projects at eight sites through REIPPPP were in final stage pre-contract discussions in March this year. And an even bigger round of procurement is expected to start in the next few months, Adam Terry, technical director at Harmattan Renewables, which is working with IPPs on projects in the country, said in a recent interview with Energy-Storage.news.