In fact, as of 2018, it was estimated that fossil fuels such as coal and gas still accounted for approximately 77% of the Philippines’ total electrical energy needs. More so, a growing economy and rising population have resulted in an increased dependence on imported coal in recent years.

Inevitably then, like many other countries, the evolving energy crisis has been quick to expose the vulnerabilities associated with its inherent fossil fuel dependence. This is seen as escalating energy prices continue to push the Philippines, along with other developing countries, out of the market and threaten the energy security of millions of its people and its economy.

The result is a renewed strategic focus by the Philippines government to transition to clean energy sources, not just to meet its sustainability targets but to support its broader economy and the communities it serves.

A main renewable energy producer

To address this while accelerating its net zero goals, the Philippines is set to become the main renewable energy producer in Southeast Asia, thanks to an ambitious plan designed to achieve 35% renewable energy generation by 2030 and 50% by 2040.

Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. claims that his administration will focus on developing renewable energy to pursue energy security.

But while certainly positive, this transition will present many challenges – principally, in terms of how to integrate these new energy producers into the existing grid.

This is because the majority of the Philippines’ existing grid structure is decades old and was only ever designed to deal with a steady, reliable supply of energy under the assumption that the amount of energy fed into the grid is always equal to the amount consumed.

The inherent variability of wind and solar, including potential imbalances in supply and demand and changes in transmission flow patterns, make balancing the grid problematic. Without some form of backup, utilities run the risk of instability or even a blackout.

At the same time, the Philippines, as with most island nations, is exposed to an increasingly unpredictable tropical climate, where it is common to experience extremely hot periods followed by sustained rain. This can make the invariability of renewable generation an even greater challenge.

The modular battery storage system was pre-engineered before delivery to the Limay site. Image: ABB

So, the big question is – how can the Philippines integrate renewables to help cut emissions, future-proof and, perhaps, most importantly, build energy security?

Battery energy storage

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) hold part of the answer.

Of course, most operators will already be well educated as to the benefits of storing excess energy and redeploying it when the sun isn’t shining, or the wind isn’t blowing to balance the grid and ensure constant reliability. But the benefits afforded by BESS for nations such as the Philippines go far beyond this.

A great example of this can be found at Limay in Bataan Province, where one of the largest-ever integrated grid-scale BESS has been installed to support the integration of renewable energy sources for Universal Power Solutions Inc (UPSI).

To achieve this, ABB provided a 60MW capacity packaged BESS solution purposely designed to strengthen the reliability and stability of the grid on the main island of Luzon.

The solution, which is currently operating at 50MW, is designed to avoid large frequency and voltage deviations that can result in costly equipment damage and disruptive power system failure.

The result is that the daily shifts in supply and demand, no matter how extreme the terrain’s changeable climate may be, can be balanced easily and instantly managed by simply adding a battery to the grid or charging it.  

This will play a significant role in not just enabling energy security but making sure every single kW of self-generated capacity is optimised to enable cheaper energy prices for residents. More so, it will allow operators to be much more tactical about the way they use the renewable energy they generate by leveraging peak shaving and load-lifting to reduce costs further.

Importantly too, it can help build a new layer of resilience whereby utilities are able to save money by timing their ‘buys’ and ‘sells’ when market conditions are optimal.

From our experiences, we believe this innovation is a critical component of local resilience and must play a lead role in enabling power system operators to make the most of renewable investments and improve access to sustainable, reliable, secure, sufficient, and cost-effective energy.

Full potential

As energy market volatility, economic uncertainty and climatic extremes continue to take their toll, it’s clear that the Philippines’ energy transition need is an urgent one. By taking heed of the latest BESS technologies, the good news is that it becomes possible to secure energy dependence by unlocking the full potential of the power of renewables.

Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 1st Energy Storage Summit Asia, 11-12 July 2023 in Singapore. The event will help give clarity on this nascent, yet quickly growing market, bringing together a community of credible independent generators, policymakers, banks, funds, off-takers and technology providers. For more information, go to the website.

About the Author

Carlos is the global product line manager for energy storage at global technology company ABB. Carlos has been working for ABB for more than 9 years and previously he was a researcher in the Carlos III University of Madrid where he coursed a Ph.D and M.Sc in Electrical, Electronics and Automation Engineering and a B.Sc in Electrical Engineering.

Continue reading

Ampt, a company providing DC optimizers for large-scale photovoltaic (PV) systems, has successfully repowered a PV system in Japan, enabling compliance with new utility requirements by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). The project demonstrates Ampt’s cost-effective and simple solution for upgrading existing PV power plants with modern inverters.

The owner of a 200 kW rooftop PV system in Odawara, Japan, integrated Ampt string optimizers to comply with TEPCO standards while minimizing changes to the existing design.

Implemented by all utilities in Japan since 2021, new standards require real-time remote curtailment control capability for grid-connected PV solar systems to help balance energy supply and demand. To comply, many PV system owners must replace their existing inverters with newer, modern inverters that can be controlled by the utility.

The system owner selected Ampt V600-i12-12 string optimizers to lower the cost of deploying modern inverters in its existing PV system. Ampt optimizers are DC/DC power converters that adapt the lower voltage of an existing PV array to be compatible with modern inverters that meet updated utility regulations.

Ampt’s technology performs maximum power point tracking (MPPT) on each string of PV modules to maximize power delivery and prevent energy losses caused by voltage mismatch. The optimizers then deliver full available PV power to the inverter at a DC voltage that is within the inverter’s operating range.

Costly rewiring was avoided and compatibility was ensured between the existing 600 VDC solar array and new 1,000 VDC inverters without voiding warranties or violating local voltage codes.

“We are pleased to complete another successful repowering project in Japan to enable compliance with utility regulations and promote a sustainable energy future for the country,” says Ampt CEO, Levent Gun.

Ampt Japan country manager, Shigeki Kondo adds: “With the new utility requirement for remote curtailment in Japan, our solution offers a vital means for PV system owners to meet the new standards while minimizing costs and operational disruptions.”

Photo by Claudio Guglieri on Unsplash.

Continue reading

The LevelTen Asset Marketplace platform connects clean energy project developers and buyers/financiers, with the associated software, analytics and M&A transaction expertise for transactions.

Giovanni Di Pascale, CEO of Altea Green Power, said: “We are delighted to have signed this agreement, which allows us to expand our business opportunities, following a model that may not yet be common in Italy, but is widely recognized and embraced overseas.”

“The process of selling our 2GW storage projects starts in these very days on LevelTen Energy’s platform. Over the next month, we will be accepting all the offers from interested parties and aim to conclude the sale by 2023.”

The early-stage projects being sold were designed with the help of Milan-based consultancy Elemens.

The market in Italy is currently gearing up to launch construction on projects, with some players waiting for the rules around large-scale storage auctions by TSO Terna to be finalised, expected late this year. Energy-Storage.news did a deep dive into the Italian market for the most recent edition of PV Tech Power (Vol.35).

Enel Green Power, part of the large utility Enel, is the only player which has started construction on a significant pipeline, having won the bulk of contracts in Capacity Market auctions in February 2022 and fast reserve ancillary service auctions in late 2020.

‘Battery storage cannot be developed like solar’

While buying a large early-stage pipeline of projects is a route to market used by many, developer Innovo Group, which is moving towards an independent power producer (IPP) model, sounded a note of caution when being interviewed for the PV Tech Power feature.

Speaking to Energy-Storage.news back in April this year – and speaking about the market in broad terms, it should be said – the firm’s founder and CEO Rodolfo Bigolin described a problem of “too many solar developers” entering the Italian market and hastily building up big pipelines to sell.

“And the problem with that is that people are throwing around grid connection requests and they’ve secured land without the strategy, without any studies over the specific project. We believe that battery storage cannot be developed like solar. It needs much more work and analysis on every specific project,” he said.

“We’ve had half-a-gigawatt pipelines come across our desk with a point of connection of 10 or 12km, from the same people who were a year ago advising others that you can’t go beyond 2km. But they found a piece of land and are now throwing grid connections around.”

Altea Green Power has in the past signed separate development partnerships with Aer Soleir for energy storage and solar PV in Italy, covered here and by sister site PV Tech respectively.

The LevelTen platform has been used numerous times in high-profile energy storage deals, including acquisitions by Cypress Creek Renewables and Canadian Solar‘s development arm Recurrent Energy in Texas and California, respectively, in mid-2022.

Continue reading

Although its solar PV development activities include utility-scale solar-plus-storage projects, several of which have been reported on by this site, its Antelope Valley Battery Energy Storage System (Antelope Valley BESS) is LRE’s first-ever standalone battery storage project.

With a 4-hour duration (504MWh), it will help Southern California Edison (SCE), one of California’s three main investor-owned utilities (IOUs), meet its resource adequacy requirements and increase its use of renewable energy.

Including the aforementioned solar-plus-storage projects in its portfolio, it will also bring Leeward’s BESS track record to more than 1GWh in operation. Leeward said construction is expected to begin in the middle of this year, which given that it is now July, must be imminent, with Antelope Valley BESS scheduled to go into commercial operation early in 2024.

Antelope Valley BESS is on a site adjacent to two LRE solar-plus-storage projects: Chapparal Springs, which is a 174MW PV plant paired with a 88MW/352MWh BESS, on which LRE closed financially in January with a US$260 million construction financing deal; and Rabbitrush, a 100MW solar PV plant with 20MW/50MWh BESS.

Chapparal Springs is under construction and LRE signed a PPA for that project with Valley Clean Energy, one of California’s non-profit Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) energy suppliers.

System integrator Powin Energy was picked as the BESS supplier to Rabbitrush in 2021, and the project marked the first to be supplied with thin-film PV modules by US maker First Solar in a 10GW supply deal with LRE.

Construction of Rabbitrush was completed and commercial operation started in late 2022. Two other CCAs, Central Coast Community Energy and Silicon Valley Clean Energy are offtakers to that one, through 15-year PPAs.

Continue reading

The investment brings on OIC, formerly known as Orion Energy Partners, as a strategic partner to ZincFive, which is targeting high-power energy storage applications including at data centres and industrial engine starting that require mission-critical, uninterrupted and good quality power supply.

The agreement follows ZincFive’s US$54 million Series D funding round at the end of last year, when the company said it had by that point raised US$139 million in total over the past seven years.

The fresh commitment from OIC brings that total to around US$219 million, although the battery company said it has recently also closed further financing from the Series D from sustainability-focused investor Clear Creek Investments.

ZincFive claims its rechargeable nickel-zinc (NiZn) battery has high power density, is fully recyclable, can be manufactured with a low carbon footprint and is not flammable. Other advantages the company has claimed include the ability for depleted or weakened cells to remain conductive, meaning that systems can run for longer before requiring maintenance or replacement parts.

As can likely be inferred from its target markets and applications, the battery is deemed by ZincFive to be suitable for high power, short duration applications that require high discharge rates. The company’s projects include a zinc-based battery energy storage system (BESS) for backup at a new data centre development in Wyoming, currently under construction.

The investment from its new strategic partner will be used to accelerate development of ZincFive’s global sales and marketing networks, advance its pipeline of new products and support the development of high-volume production lines based in the US. It will also go towards the company’s activities in recycling.

ZincFive alongside numerous other zinc-based battery players

Zinc has long been spoken of in academic as well as industry circles as a material with the potential to complement, if not compete with, lithium-ion in the energy storage sector, along with flow batteries, and sodium-ion. Known to be relatively abundant and easy to mine with established supply chains for use in other industries, the main challenge to date has been in making zinc-based batteries rechargeable.

ZincFive is part of a growing number of zinc-based battery providers in the energy storage space: perhaps the most established player is EOS Energy Enterprises, which makes a zinc hybrid cathode battery that plates and replates zinc in a 3-hour duration system that can be stacked to create durations of up to about 12 hours.

Others include the very similarly-named Zinc8, which nonetheless makes a completely different type of zinc battery to ZincFive. Zinc8’s technology is described as a type of zinc-air flow battery, and the company is in the process of establishing a US$68 million manufacturing facility in New York State, while its tech is being used in a 15-hour duration pilot project in the state by NYSERDA to assess if it can be safe for use in urban environments.

Energy-Storage.news recently spoke with the CEO of yet another, Australia’s Redflow, which makes a flow battery based on zinc-bromine electrolyte, and is a sort of hybrid of flow battery and zinc plating battery tech, CEO Tim Harris said.

In a blog published on this site last year, Dr Josef Daniel-Ivad, executive director of the trade association Zinc Battery Initiative, wrote in detail about the use of zinc in batteries – from its history in the first-ever battery, created by Alessandro Volta two centuries ago, to the potential of present-day innovators and hopefuls, as well as the challenges they face.  

Continue reading

Holu Hou Energy LLC, a provider of design to service solar-plus-energy storage systems, has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) to provide a solar-plus storage system to the new 120-bed Daniel K. Akaka Hawaii State Veterans Home on Oahu. Lower cost electricity to the facility and grid resiliency are two benefits the system will provide via the Scheduled Dispatch Program.

Construction of the facility is expected to be complete in December of this year with first patient intake beginning spring/summer 2024. The renewable energy system will be constructed this year and will include 518.8 kW of photovoltaics (PV) and 1,305 kWh of battery energy storage (BESS).

Hawaii is home to approximately 100,000 Veterans, about 80,000 of which reside on Oahu. According to State Officials, the Veterans Home will offer skilled nursing and intermediate care facility beds to provide long-term care services plus geriatric mental health, dementia, rehabilitation therapies, hospice respite and adult day care.

Under the current PPA, onsite solar energy generation and battery storage services will be provided by Onyx Renewable Partners LP, a national provider of clean energy and decarbonization solutions to large facilities, businesses and municipalities. Onyx will also supply the project construction capital and PPA financing for the portfolio. As owner and operator of the assets, Onyx will fully fund and maintain the solar-plus storage systems, thereby requiring no initial investment or upfront cost to the new State Veterans Home.

“Onyx Renewables is pleased to be partnering with Holu Hou Energy,” states Mary Beth Mandanas, CEO of Onyx. “This project highlights our focus on bringing resilient and affordable clean energy to businesses nationwide. The Onyx team is committed to veterans, service members and military spouses – we are excited to be paying it forward through this initiative.”

Pro Circuit Solar Inc with Photonworks Engineering LLP will conduct the onsite construction of the system with project management oversight provided by Onyx.

Continue reading

WECC covers all 14 western US states including California, the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, and the north tip of the Mexican state of Baja California.

Todd Kice, Managing Director of Originations at Leyline, commented: “The low-hanging fruit in our industry has been picked, so to speak, and utility-scale projects are going to get harder to complete in the years to come.”

“You need experience as well as resilience to be successful; (RAI CEO) Mohammed (Alrai) has the creativity and the tenacity to work through the unexpected issues that inevitably arise and get projects done.”

The announcement comes a fortnight after Leyline agreed to provide Grid Connected Infrastructure (GCI) a US$22.5 million non-dilutive loan facility for utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects across the US. GCI has the goal of developing 1GW of BESS over the coming four years.

The financing will allow GCI CEO Mitch Bauer to acquire quickly key real estate assets and build an expert development team over the next two years, Leyline said. GCI intends to launch six projects over the next six months in markets including CAISO (California), NYISO (New York state), and ERCOT (Texas).

Leyline said its loans are short-term 3-5 year loans which serve as a useful alternative to early-stage private equity investment.

In May, Leyline provided US$30 million to Accelergen Energy, also for solar and storage projects in the US, covered by our sister site PV Tech.

Project announcements and financing deals have picked up in the US over the past few weeks ever since the IRS provided further guidance on the domestic content adder, and transferability and direct pay aspects of the investment tax credit (ITC).

Continue reading

The DSA involves a series of non-refundable payments from Matrix to Emeren for every onboarded project in the framework of the agreement as well as for the achievement of each development target.

This indicates Emeren, which has to-date mainly been a solar developer, covered extensively by sister site PV Tech, will be taking charge of more of the early-stage development work.

The first portfolio of projects delivered and accepted by Matrix totals 260MW of standalone BESS projects, the announcement said.

Emeren’s participation in the DSA is actually through a joint venture entity consisting of subsidiary Emeren Limited, local engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm Enerpoint S.r.l and Kaizen Invest Holding S.r.l.

Yumin Liu, CEO of Emeren, said: “the DSA structure-based transaction confirms our sizable standalone BESS pipeline in Italy, showcasing our team’s confidence in project development and early-stage monetization. We are confident in our ability to deliver sustainable solutions that meet evolving energy needs and contribute to a cleaner, more resilient energy landscape.”

Chris Matthews, MD for Europe at Matrix Renewables, added: “We are confident that our combined efforts will drive meaningful advancements in the renewable energy sector in Italy with both parties taking a leading position in the Italian BESS market.”

Activity in the country has been picking up in the last few months, with an 800MWh given the final regulatory approval, a 15MW system coming online to provide ancillary services, and Enel Green Power announcing the start of construction on 1.6GW of projects.

Matrix Renewables has been active in the California solar-plus-storage market, last year securing financing for two projects with 80MWh of BESS. The developer was launched by TPG in 2020 thorough its impact investment vehicle The Rise Fund.

Continue reading

They follow on from 739MW of previously-announced winners across seven projects in the competitive solicitation, which is aimed at ensuring electric system reliability. While margins are thought to be adequate today, demand for power is projected to continue growing rapidly in Ontario in the second half of this decade.

In addition to the 881MW of chosen winners, more are expected: the provincial government demanded the IESO make a total procurement of between 1500MW to 2500MW of energy storage in October 2022. More recently, the IESO has determined that total to be 2200MW.

This is being bolstered with additional contracts for natural gas generation capacity to meet a 4000MW forecasted requirement, most if not all of which will come from expansions and refurbishments of existing power plant facilities. That part of the RFP is called the Same Technology Upgrade Solicitation.

As might be quickly inferred from comparing the numbers above, the eight projects selected in the latest round, Storage Category 2, are mostly on a much smaller scale than the seven chosen in May’s Storage Category 1 announcement.

The biggest winner appears to be Alectra Convergent Development, which is a joint venture (JV) partnership between energy solutions provider and developer Alectra Energy Solutions, and energy storage company Convergent Energy and Power.

Alectra Convergent Development had three successful bids totalling 80MW, although independent power producer (IPP) Capital Power had the single largest project awarded a contract in Storage Category 2, a 50MW BESS in the City of Brampton.

In Storage Category 1, the biggest project was Hagersville, a 300MW system proposed by French developer Boralex, and the second biggest a 265MW project by Atura Power, another IPP and a subsidiary of Ontario Power Generation, a provincial government-owned corporation. US energy efficiency and renewables company Ameresco recently revealed it is part of the JV working on Atura Power’s project.

It’s important to note also that the RFP stipulated energy storage projects must be able to discharge their contracted energy output over a 4-hour duration. That means all the projects awarded will be 4-hour, and that Hagersville, at 300MW/1200MWh, will be Ontario’s biggest BESS project so far, bigger even than the province’s flagship Oneida storage project (250MW/1000MWh).

Winners can be seen in the table below:

ProponentQualified applicantProject nameNameplate capacity (MW)Summer contract capacity (MW)Winter contract capacity (MW)Zone- location1000234763 Ontario Inc1000234763 Ontario IncSFF064.994.744.74East – Township of Cramahe1000234763 Ontario Inc1000234763 Ontario Inc9034.994.744.74Essa – Township of Armour1000234763 Ontario Inc1000234763 Ontario IncOZ-14.994.744.74Bruce – Municipality ofArran–ElderslieArlen Energy Storage 1 LPAlectra ConvergentDevelopment LPArlen Energy Storage 1201919Southwest – City of GuelphGoreway (Battery) LP1Capital Power CorporationGoreway BESS5047.547.5Toronto – City of BramptonVaughan 1E Energy Storage 1 LPAlectra ConvergentDevelopment LPVaughan 1E EnergyStorage 1201919Toronto – City ofVaughanVaughan 3 Energy Storage 1 LPAlectra ConvergentDevelopment LPVaughan 3 EnergyStorage 1403838Toronto – City ofVaughanWalker BESS 4 Limited PartnershipWahgoshig Solar FIT5 LPAlmonte BESS4.9994.7494.749East – Municipality ofMississippi MillsData from Ontario IESO

Weighted average price for all Storage Category projects was given as CA$881.09 (US$666.71)/MW Business Day.

Capital Power was also a winner in Storage Category 1 with a 120MW project, as was Wahgoshig Solar FIT5, a partnership between the Wahgoshig First Nation and private investors, which submitted a number of bids with developments of 4.99MW per site.

A little research shows that the other winner in Category 2, 1000234763 Ontario Inc, is a group of limited partnerships operating as a renewable energy investment vehicle under the name Solar Flow-Through Funds (SFF).

Subscribers to Energy-Storage.news Premium might know already from our May Editor’s Blog detailing what was at the time the busiest week so far in Canada’s energy storage sector – with the Storage Category 1 awards announced around the same time financial close on the Oneida project was announced – the contracts give developers a degree of long-term revenue certainty on their projects.

At the same time, the projects will be able to access merchant revenue opportunities to earn profits.

Ontario is also currently reforming its resource adequacy mechanism design and is seeking stakeholder engagement on draft proposals.

As highlighted in a recent Guest Blog for this site from Justin Rangooni, executive director of the Energy Storage Canada trade association, these are among a number of developments that show a growing recognition from Canadian legislators and industry alike that energy storage is crucial to achieving the country’s net zero goals as well as its energy system security and reliability.

Other major developments include the government’s announcement that it will introduce a tax credit scheme similar to that in place in the US. However, Rangooni said, ambitions still fall short of being able to support between 8GW and 12GW of grid-connected storage deployments by 2035 that Energy Storage Canada says the country needs.

Continue reading

When fully operational, Mycrogrid Materials Recycling (MMR) is expected be the largest solar panel recycling facility in the Southwest, assisting California and Arizona in particular with their end-of-life panels.

MMR will also be the first solar recycling facility in the nation developed in cooperation with a solar installation company, Renova Energy, which is likely to be its biggest supplier of panels to be recycled.

Located in the eastern part of the Coachella Valley in Southern California, MMR will provide recycling services for solar essential materials, including photovoltaic modules, racking and railing and, ultimately, battery storage equipment.

“The solar energy revolution isn’t really realized until we complete the circle with recycling the panels that have come to the end of their useful lifespan and the materials are used to create more panels and other products,” says Vincent Battaglia, MMR board member and advisor.

More than 90% of discarded solar panels end up in landfills. Through a safe, advanced, environmentally conscious process, MMR will break down solar essential materials for reuse in new products to ensure that solar energy remains a truly sustainable solution. Although 95% of a typical photovoltaic panel is made of recyclable materials, the process of disassembling one and recovering the glass, silver and silicon is extremely difficult.

The United States has no federal regulations that mandate PV recycling and, according to the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, less than 10% of the country’s decommissioned panels are recycled. Burying them in landfills endangers groundwater and soil since some of the metals used to construct them are toxic. MMR will help end that practice.

Continue reading