60 000 kilowatt energy storage project in North Africa

What is the largest battery energy storage system in Africa?

Leading African independent power producer Globeleq says the 153 MW/612 MWh Red Sands project, which was recently awarded preferred bidder status under South Africa ’s inaugural battery storage public procurement round, will be the largest standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) in Africa and will carry an investment value of R5.7-billion.

Why is electricity storage important in South Africa?

“Electricity storage is going to be key not only in helping South Africa meet its considerable industrial and domestic demand for energy but also in meeting growing demand right across Africa as more and more renewable energy projects benefit from the advances our industry has made with battery storage technology,” Scholey said.

Why is battery technology a problem in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Today, battery technology is costly and not widely deployed in large-scale energy projects. The gap is particularly acute in Sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly 600 million people still live without access to reliable and affordable electricity, despite the region’s significant wind and solar power potential and burgeoning energy demand.

What is the WBG doing in Africa?

The WBG is also developing solar parks with 150 MW of PV and some 200 MWh battery storage each in Mali and Burkina Faso – the largest in the region. Other projects include a combined solar and battery storage project in Haiti, an emergency solar and battery storage power plant in the Gambia and mini-grids in island states to improve resilience.

Who attended the 'batteries energy storage & the renewable future' event?

The “Batteries, Energy Storage & the Renewable Future” event in Cape Town on Feb. 24 and 25 was attended by more than 200 participants from companies including Tesla, General Electric, Fluence, Siemens, the Southern Africa Power Pool, and national research labs and utilities from many countries.

What is the global demand for battery storage?

Global demand for battery storage is expected to reach 2,300 GWh by 2030, while power systems around the world will need nearly ten times more -- 22,000 GWh -- of storage capacity by 2050 to integrate more wind and solar energy into the electricity grid. The World Bank is already taking steps to address this growing need.