Eskom says is has awarded contracts to two successful bidders – Hyosung Heavy Industries and Pinggao Group – for the provision of battery storage solutions in terms of its flagship Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project.

The power utility says this follows a competitive and transparent bidding process.

The contract is for design, supply and installation as well as operating and maintenance for a 5-year period.

This is the first part of the 500MW BESS initiative announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa as part of the government’s measures to address South Africa’s long-running electricity crisis.

The Eskom BESS project will act as a proof of concept on the delivery of the first battery energy storage project in South Africa.

The project supports transformational aspects by demonstrating large-scale deployment in support of South Africa’s renewable energy strategy and addresses local overall system challenges.It is envisioned that gains from the BESS project will help to alleviate 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.

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Charging of the batteries will take place during off-peak periods or when the network conditions permit.

The project is designed to utilise large scale utility batteries with the capacity of 1 440MWh per day and a 60MW solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity to be implemented in two phases.

To maximise benefits, the distributed battery storage sites are strategically situated at remote areas with limited access to our distribution networks, but close to renewable independent power producers’ (IPPs) plants.

All Phase 1 sites are planned to be commissioned by 30 June 2023 and Phase 2 by December 2024.

During Phase 1, the utility aims to introduce 199 MW/832 MWh of BESS capacity across eight sites, including:

• 80 MW at Skaapvlei, 20 MW at Hex, 9.5 MW at Paleisheuwel and 5 MW at Graafwater, all in the Western Cape;
• 35 MW at Melkhout, in the Eastern Cape;
• 40 MW at Pongola and 8 MW at Elandskop, in KwaZulu-Natal; and
• 1.54 MW plus 2.04 MW of solar photovoltaic at Rietfontein, in the Northern Cape.

Through the BESS project, Eskom aspires to diversify the existing generation energy mix by pursuing a low carbon future to reduce the impact on the environment. The 1 440MWh distributed BESS with 60MW Solar PV represents a giant leap forward in achieving this aspiration, as it will be one of the largest BESS projects to be developed and implemented in South Africa.

– Velaphi Ntuli, Eskom’s General Manager Coal & Clean Technology.

Approval for the BESS implementation has been obtained from the World Bank.

The project is co-financed by the African Development Bank, New Development Bank, the World Bank and the Clean Technology Fund (CTF).

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 challenges in the long-term.

– André de Ruyter, Eskom’s Group Chief Executive.

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