Stakeholders at the groundbreaking ceremony last week. Image: Eskom.

South Africa’s main utility and grid operator Eskom has announced the start of construction of its first battery energy storage system (BESS), with Hyosung Heavy Industries.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Elandskop BESS project last week (8 December), which is spread across two different municipalities within the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal.

It will total 8MW of power and 32MWh of energy storage capacity and be built in 7-12 months with connection to Eskom’s Elandskop substation. Its main role will be to boost the network during peak hours to relieve stress to the grid, a press release said, equivalent to peak shaving.

The project is part of phase one of a 343MW/1,440MWh BESS procurement that Eskom concluded in August. The first phase will see 199MW/833MWh built at eight substations throughout the country, alongside 2MW of solar PV, while the second phase comprises 144MW/616MWh of deployments at a further five Eskom sites with 58MW of solar PV.

A total of 11 billion Rand (US$630 million) is being invested in the projects which will be completed by June 2023 and December 2024 in phases one and two respectively. Chinese company Pinggao Group was the other winner of the competitive solicitation process.

The projects are being delivered through one of two procurements by Eskom which are adding large-scale battery storage systems to the South African grid.

The other is the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) which is adding, among other resources, solar and storage capacity to make up projected shortfalls between future supply and demand.

Norwegian firm Scatec is delivering a 540MW solar, 225MW/1,140MWh energy storage portion of this with help from its government-backed export financing agency Eksfin, and started building the units in July this year.

The battery storage portions of those projects are a way for Eskom to bring more renewables online without needing to substantially expand grid infrastructure, a consultant working with independent power producers (IPPs) on projects in South Africa explained to Energy-Storage.news in March.

South Africa is seeking a net zero energy system by 2050 but is also looking to improve grid resiliency in the face of widespread outages.

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Energy-Storage.news proudly presents our latest webinar with HMS Networks, on the role of cloud-based analytics in optimising battery lifecycles and asset performance.

Batteries for stationary storage applications usually have design lifetimes of between 10 and 15 years. But even batteries produced by the same machine and on the same day show substantial differences in their aging behavior.

With BESS playing an integral role in the transition to renewables and the long-term sustainability of our energy grid, strategic battery asset management and monitoring deployed assets are key to reducing operational risks and maximising profitability.

This webinar is for project leaders of BESS systems, asset managers, owners and operators who want to accurately track and predict battery lifecycles, safety, performance, and aging.

It explores explore how to build a data-driven foundation for BESS asset management using cloud-based battery analytics, how to leverage existing data from battery management systems (BMS) and differentiate the role of the BMS from analytics.

Speakers in this webinar:

Matt Shustack, business development manager, Americas at HMS Networks

Yuan Lee, business development manager, EMEA, at HMS Networks

Jan Figgener, battery expert, ACCURE Battery Intelligence

Moderator:

Andy Colthorpe, editor, Energy-Storage.news

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You can also access the recording on-demand on the site (registration required), at the link here.

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Rendering of heliostats (mirrors) as used in a Vast Solar CSP plant. Image: Vast Solar.

Natron Energy could supply sodium-ion battery storage to a novel ‘integrated hybrid generator’ project in Queensland, Australia.

The US-headquartered startup, one of several major and emerging players developing and commercialising the battery technology, has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Vast Solar, the project’s developer.

The developer’s project on Queensland’s Mount Isa will combine concentrating solar power (CSP), solar PV, battery energy storage and gas engine generators to create what Vast Solar has also dubbed a “solar hybrid baseload power plant,” capable of outputting energy 24/7.

Vast Solar is developing the project together with Queensland state-owned energy company Stanwell, targeting a total 50MW of power generation at what would be known as the North West Queensland Hybrid Power Project (NWQHPP).

According to the state’s government, construction would begin in early 2023, with the various hybrid resources’ construction phases staggered.

A website set up to showcase the power plant plans shows the planned CSP plant linked with a 56MW steam turbine and molten salt thermal storage with 14.5 hours duration, 80MW of solar PV with single-axis tracking system, integrated 52MW/15MWh short-duration battery energy storage system (BESS) and 57MW gas reciprocating engines.

A new 220kV high voltage transmission line would connect the facility to the North West Power System network and its dispatch coordinated by a central control system.

It is one of two hybrid plants in Australia featuring CSP in development by Vast Solar, along with another 30MW plant in Port Augusta, South Australia.

Vast Solar has received a AU$110 million (US$74.5 million) concessional financing commitment from the Australian government for the Port Augusta project, while the company also got a US$2.3 million commitment from the US Department of Energy in October to support its commercialisation of specialised tanks for molten salt thermal energy storage.

In June, Energy-Storage.news reported that the Port Augusta project is being co-developed by Australian thermal storage startup 1414 Degrees. The project had seemed to have hit the buffers when original investors pulled out, prompting Vast Solar to step in and form its joint venture (JV) with 1414 Degrees and reviving the plan.

The systems would be Australia’s first-ever CSP plants, Vast Solar claimed, although another company, Photon Energy, is developing a couple of projects based on a technology dubbed ‘thermal hydro’ which combines CSP and solar PV to generate both electricity and heat.

Race to commercialise sodium-ion tech

Natron meanwhile got an undisclosed sum of equity investment from United Airlines earlier this month, to help electrify and therefore decarbonise the aviation group’s ground operations. Natron wants to open a sodium-ion factory in Michigan next year with up to 600MW annual production capacity.

Claiming to be the only provider currently shipping UL-listed sodium-ion batteries and to have overcome limitations around cycle life that have to date held the technology back, Natron also said its products can be made cheaply by leveraging existing production techniques from lithium-ion battery production, as well as being based on more abundant materials.

Other players commercialising sodium-ion batteries include CATL, India’s Reliance New Energy via the acquisition of UK battery startup Faradion, and another Chinese group, HiNa Battery Technology, which recently opened the world’s first gigawatt-hour scale sodium-ion production line with state-owned power company China Three Gorges Corporation.

Sodium-ion could be one potential answer to shortages of lithium-ion batteries, with both raw materials and finished products constrained due largely to rapidly growing demand from the electric vehicle (EV) sector.

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.

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Andhra Pradesh Chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy pours first concrete at Greenko’s hybrid PHES and renewable energy plant in May this year. Image: CMO Andhra Pradesh via Twitter.

Greenko has won a technology agnostic tender hosted by NTPC Renewable Energy in India to provide long-duration energy storage.

Clean energy independent power producer (IPP) Greenko presented the lowest priced bid in a reverse auction hosted by NTPC Renewable Energy Limited (NTPC REL), a subsidiary of state-owned power company NTPC.

Greenko’s winning submission is for a 500MW/3,000MWh pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) plant. It will serve NTPC REL under a 25-year contract, with the power generation company seeking to use the long-duration energy storage (LDES) resource to offer 24/7 ‘round-the-clock’ clean energy to customers such as large corporates and utilities.

Greenko has already become known as a developer of PHES in India, somewhat reviving the fortunes of a legacy technology that offers large capacity energy storage at low cost – if the sites with the right space, topography and access to electricity network infrastructure can be found for it.

The company claimed to be developing some 50GWh of PHES at various sites in India, some of it already underway, such as a project in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool District which combines 1,680MW/10,800MWh of pumped hydro with 3,000MW of solar PV and 550MW of wind generation.

Construction on that plant, worth US$3 billion investment, began in May this year. At the time of its contract award in 2018, it was thought to be the lowest priced bid for a renewables-plus-storage plant anywhere in the world, at US$0.054/kWh.

Greenko is using its buildout of PHES to create its own 100% renewable energy supply offerings, including in partnership with major Indian renewables players like Ayana Renewable Power and an off-take deal with metals company ArcellorMittal.

Cost of storage ‘as low as US$29/MWh’

The IPP said last week that its bid in the NTPC REL tender beat away competition from project bids that included a broad range of technologies, including lithium-ion and sodium-sulfur batteries, compressed air energy storage (CAES) and other pumped hydro developments.

NTPC REL had been looking for projects to be sited anywhere in India, with a minimum of 100MW/600MWh output/capacity, up to 500MW/3,000MWh. Already-commissioned resources were not eligible, although plants under construction were, as long as they were not already included in a state or national scheme.

Greenko claimed the tender to be “an inflection point in the global energy transition journey,” establishing a model for soliciting long-duration storage by renewable energy generators and procuring low-carbon energy resources. It also, the company claimed, established PHES “as the preferred and lowest cost long duration energy storage solution”.

The cost of its bid was equivalent to US$58/MWh on the basis of the PHES plant performing a single daily cycle, which Greenko noted is roughly half the cost of recently tendered lithium-ion battery storage projects in the country. If factoring in that PHES could deliver more than one cycle per day, the cost comes down to as little as US$29/MWh, Greenko claimed.

NTPC and various other government entities in India have begun tendering for energy storage in a bid to stimulate the market and offer long-term stability for private investors into the renewable energy space. The launch of tenders over the past year or so has been described as marking the start of India’s “energy storage revolution”.

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.

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Kelley Brown

Sabanci Renewables Inc. has selected Bechtel to build a 272 MW DC solar facility in Fort Bend County, Texas. The Fort Bend facility will be the first utility-scale solar project in the United States for Sabanci Renewables, Inc., a subsidiary of Sabanci Holding, a Turkish company. Sabanci Renewables will own and operate the facility.

Bechtel’s scope includes engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and project management for the Texas facility. Project construction will begin in the first quarter of 2023 with completion of the project expected in the second quarter of 2024. The solar energy generated at Cutlass Solar Two will connect to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ Houston Zone.

“Bechtel is honored to partner with Sabanci Renewables to support a clean energy future,” says Kelley Brown, EPC operations manager for North America Core Renewables at Bechtel Infrastructure. “Bechtel’s use of new technology in robotics and digital management will help move Cutlass Solar Two from construction to operations in record time, bringing additional renewable energy generation to Texas.”

“Sabanci and Bechtel closely collaborated to develop the project on a record schedule, and we are confident our partnership will successfully deliver our first U.S. renewable energy facility as planned,” adds Ismail Bilgin, CEO of Sabanci Renewables Inc. “Bechtel’s strong reputation for successful EPC execution, including its global supply chain expertise, its ability to attract and train local workforce, and its reputation to self-perform design and construction of clean power facilities across the U.S. made them the right choice to build the project. We believe this is the start of a long-lasting partnership developing renewable energy projects in the U.S.”

Bechtel Enterprises, the company’s project development and financing arm, was instrumental in the development of the Cutlass Solar Two project.

“Bechtel is advancing local decarbonization and resiliency efforts throughout the United States by efficiently creating new clean energy projects with our integrated development plus EPC approach,” comments Matt Strangfeld, managing director of clean energy development.

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Jason Grumet

The American Clean Power Association (ACP) has named Jason Grumet as the organization’s CEO following unanimous approval by the association’s board of directors. He will assume his role on January 23, 2023.

“ACP has quickly established itself as the voice of the clean energy industry and a highly effective advocate for policies that are unlocking America’s clean energy potential,” states Craig Cornelius, CEO of Clearway Energy Group and chair of the ACP Board of Directors. “With that strong foundation now set, we could think of no one who we would be more excited to have as our leader as we go forward into the next phase of our industry’s life.”

“Jason’s bold vision, track record of leadership, depth of experience in energy policy and his strong bipartisan relationships together make him the perfect person to lead us forward at this critical moment,” adds Cornelius. “As clean energy creates good jobs and economic opportunity in red and blue America alike, it must continue to be a bipartisan issue. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Jason at the helm during this inflection point for our organization.”

Grumet founded the Bipartisan Policy Center in 2007 to advocate for viable policy solutions to major policy challenges. In 2001, Grumet founded and directed the National Commission on Energy Policy, which advocates for energy policies. He previously led the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management.

“I couldn’t be more excited for Jason to take the reins of ACP at this pivotal time in its journey. Jason’s depth of experience in energy policy, his bold leadership and strong relationships across the political spectrum make him the perfect candidate to lead and grow our organization,” says Leo Moreno, the president of AES Clean Energy and incoming chair of the board.

“There has never been a more dynamic moment for U.S. and global energy policy. The imperative to simultaneously grow and decarbonize our economy while strengthening national security is the defining challenge of the next 30 years,” comments Grumet. “My life’s work has been about two things: developing real climate solutions and building durable bipartisan policy. The opportunity ACP has presented to join these two commitments is exciting and compelling. ACP’s broad membership, talented staff, compelling mission and growing resources make it the place to be for anyone seeking to shape the clean energy transition. I am honored to join the ACP team.”

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Joseph DeCarolis, administrator of the U.S. Energy Information Administration

Image: United States Department of Energy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Developers and power plant owners plan to significantly increase utility-scale battery storage capacity in the United States over the next three years, reaching 30 GW by the end of 2025, based on U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory.

Developers and power plant owners report operating and planned capacity additions, including battery storage, to EIA through its electric generator surveys. Battery storage capacity in the United States was negligible prior to 2020, when electricity storage capacity began growing rapidly. As of October 2022, 7.8 GW of utility-scale battery storage was operating in the United States; developers and power plant operators expect to be using 1.4 GW more battery capacity by the end of the year. From 2023 to 2025, they expect to add another 20.8 GW of battery storage capacity.

The remarkable growth in U.S. battery storage capacity is outpacing even the early growth of the country’s utility-scale solar capacity. U.S. solar capacity began expanding in 2010 and grew from less than 1 GW in 2010 to 13.7 GW in 2015. In comparison, we expect battery storage to increase from 1.5 GW in 2020 to 30.0 GW in 2025. Much like solar power, growth in battery storage would change the U.S. electric generating portfolio.

Battery storage adds stability to variable energy sources such as wind and solar. Wind and solar are both intermittent resources; they can only provide electricity when the wind is blowing or when sunshine is available. Batteries solve the intermittency problem by storing extra energy produced by wind or solar generators for use later.

More than 75% of the 20.8 GW of utility-scale battery capacity that owners and operators reported that they plan to install from 2022 to 2025 is located in Texas (7.9 GW) and California (7.6 GW).

The large amount of existing and planned solar and wind capacity in California and Texas present a growing need for battery storage. More utility-scale solar capacity is located in California than in any other state, 16.8 GW, and developers expect to add another 7.7 GW between 2023 and 2025. A total of 10.5 GW of utility-scale solar capacity is located in Texas; developers plan to install another 20.4 GW between 2023 and 2025. In addition, 37.2 GW of wind capacity is located in Texas, more than in any other state, and developers expect to add an additional 5.3 GW over the next three years.

As more battery capacity becomes available to the U.S. grid, battery storage projects are becoming increasingly larger in capacity. Before 2020, the largest U.S. battery storage project was 40 MW. The 250 MW Gateway Energy Storage System in California, which began operating in 2020, marked the beginning of large-scale battery storage installation. At present, the 409 MW Manatee Energy Storage in Florida is the largest operating battery storage project in the country. Developers have scheduled more than 23 large-scale battery projects, ranging from 250 MW to 650 MW, to be deployed by 2025.

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Jeff Keebler

Madison Gas and Electric (MGE), in partnership with We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service (WPS), subsidiaries of WEC Energy Group, has received approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to purchase solar energy and battery storage from the Darien Solar Energy Center. MGE will own 25 MW of solar energy and 7.5 MW of battery storage from the 250 MW solar and 75 MW battery storage facility in Rock and Walworth Counties in southern Wisconsin.

“The Darien Solar Energy Center is another important step in our ongoing transition to cleaner energy sources, reducing carbon at least 80 percent by the end of this decade and achieving net-zero carbon electricity by 2050,” says Jeff Keebler, MGE’s chairman, president and CEO. “MGE’s investments in cost-effective, clean energy and battery storage technology help ensure that all our customers will experience the economic and environmental benefits of our clean energy transition.”

Located on 2,000 acres in the Town of Bradford in Rock County and the Town of Darien in Walworth County, the Darien Solar Energy Center will feature up to 850,000 solar panels. It will generate enough clean energy to power about 75,000 households. MGE’s share of the output will power about 7,500 households.

We Energies and WPS will own the remaining 225 MW of the solar output and 67.5 MW of battery storage from the project. Invenergy LLC is the project developer. The facility is expected to begin serving customers by the end of 2024.

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is awarding $8 million for six solar energy research projects across six states and the District of Columbia that will provide new economic opportunities for farmers, rural communities and the solar industry. The funding supports agrivoltaics – the co-location of agricultural production and solar energy generation on the same land – and aims to reduce barriers to utility-and community-scale solar energy deployment while maximizing benefits for farmers and local communities.

“DOE’s research into agrivoltaics provides an incredible opportunity to pair solar energy generation with safe and robust crop production – ensuring rural communities reap the full economic benefits of a clean energy future,” states U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “With these exciting projects, we’re supporting sustainable agriculture and investing in the technologies that enable us to make our climate goals a reality – a win-win for our planet and hardworking farmers coast to coast.”

Agrivoltaics is defined as crop production, livestock grazing and/or pollinator habitat under solar panels or between rows of solar panels. In the United States, less than 2% of solar energy projects are co-located with crops or pollinator habitats. In a recent report, researchers at DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory highlighted the ecological and agricultural benefits that could result from improving agrivoltaic practices.

The Foundational Agrivoltaic Research for Megawatt Scale (FARMS) funding program seeks to develop replicable models for agrivoltaics that can provide new economic opportunities while potentially reducing land-use conflicts. DOE is focused on making agrivoltaic practices across the country easier to adopt, lowering the cost and maximizing benefits for farmers, rural communities and the solar industry.

The projects selected for FARMS build on ongoing DOE-funded research, which is focused on conducting research, analysis and dissemination of agrivoltaics best practices. The six projects will examine multiple configurations of solar system design, crops and cultivation methods, and soil and environmental conditions. Researchers will work with agricultural extensions and develop resources to spread the best practices to farmers and communities.

The Iowa State University (Ames, Iowa) project was awarded $1.6 million to study horticulture and beekeeping at solar sites, produce decision support tools, and provide agrivoltaics training programs for farmers and other stakeholders.

Rutgers University (Piscataway, N.J.) is receiving $1.6 million to conduct crop and grazing trials at two solar array testbeds, study community perceptions of agrivoltaics, and create a regional agrivoltaics network for agricultural extension staff in the Northeast, beginning with their partnership with Delaware State University, a historically black land-grant university.

The Solar and Storage Industries Institute (Washington, D.C.) project team will partner with the agriculture and utility sectors to identify barriers to implementing agrivoltaics and produce case studies and guides for solar developers, farmers, and decision-makers. They are receiving $500,000.

The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio) project is awarded $1.8 million to conduct grazing and forage (hay) production trials using precision agriculture technologies and study the impacts on soil health at an operating utility-scale solar site.

University of Alaska Fairbanks (Fairbanks, Alaska), with a $1.3 million award, will research agrivoltaics specifically adapted to the food and energy needs of high-latitude underserved communities.

University of Arizona’s (Tucson, Ariz.) research will pilot grazing and climate-smart agriculture under a traditional utility-scale solar site to maximize energy, food and water benefits in the arid Southwest with an award amount $1.2 million.

By selecting awardees with large extension networks, DOE aims to enable more collaboration among farmers, rural communities and the solar industry. The six projects will conduct robust outreach to and engage with regional rural and farming communities, including Hispanic, Tribal and immigrant farmers.  These investments will advance diversity, equity and inclusion – supporting President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative to ensure that the clean energy economy benefits all Americans, especially those in underserved and underrepresented communities.

Image: Jadon Kelly on Unsplash

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Borqs Technologies Inc.’s subsidiary, Holu Hou Energy (HHE), has received multiple purchase orders for its HoluPower xP solar energy storage systems for installation at homeowner locations in the Greater San Diego area in California.

Whereas in Hawaii, HHE works to develop and construct single-family residential projects as an “end to end” provider, the company will target the California homeowner market through already existing channel partners that will sell and construct the projects. For multi-dwelling unit (MDU) residential properties in the state, the company will initially target apartment owners, REITs and other MDU stakeholders directly, then partner with existing licensed contractors for system construction.

The HoluPower xP delivers a safer lithium ion battery chemistry, more system power with 9.6 kW AC, and greater system modularity with each system supporting four strings of PV and up to four 8.2 kWh battery modules. Energy control is through the HHE Modular Energy Control platform. There is integrated home load control so both renewable energy supply and load/usage can be scheduled or optimized real time with one another.

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