DMRE announces 17 bidders in South Africa’s battery energy storage tender

• On the 7 March this year The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) invited interested parties to register prospective bids under the Battery Energy Storage Capacity Bid Window of the Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (Battery Energy Storage IPPPP). Read more
• The Ministerial Determination gazetted on 25 September 2020, requires the Department to procure 513 megawatts (MW) of Storage.
• The DMRE has published a list 17 project bidders after a deadline submission extension from July 5th to 2nd August 2023.

The Battery Energy Storage (BES) IPP Procurement Programme has been designed to facilitate the procurement of up to 513 megawatts (MW), to provide Capacity, Energy and Ancillary Services in addition to contributing towards socio-economic and environmentally sustainable growth, to continue the successes of the IPP Procurement Programme.

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All the interconnecting Transmission substations forming part of the BES IPP Procurement Programme are in the Northern Cape, as specified by Eskom.

The Capacity to be procured in the Northern Cape under the BESS IPP Procurement Programme is in respect of the following interconnecting Transmission substations, and their respective storage capacity (“Substations Energy Storage Capacity”), as follows:

The DMRE has published a list if the 17 projects by name and bidding company:

1. ACWA BESS 1, bid by ACWA BESS 1;
2. Boitshoko BESS; bid by Boitshoko Solar Power Plant (RF) (Pty) Ltd;
3. Hyperion 2 BESS, bid by Cyraguard (Pty) Ltd;
4. Impala BESS, bid by Impala Solar Plant (RF) (Pty) Ltd;
5. Kenhardt BESS, submitted by a consortium to be incorporated;
6. Mogobe BESS, bid by AEP Mogobe (Pty) Ltd;
7. Neo BESS, bid by the Neo BESS Bidder Consortium.
8. New Hope 2 BESS, bid by Lacerta Energy (Pty) Ltd;
9. Oasis Aggeneis, bid by EDF Development South Africa (Pty) Ltd;
10. Oasis Mookobi, bid by EDF Development South Africa (Pty) Ltd;
11. Oasis Nieuwehoop, bid by EDF Development South Africa (Pty) Ltd;
12. Protea, bid by Protea Solar Power Plant (RF) (Pty) Ltd; and
13. Red Sands BESS, bid by AGV Projects (Pty) Ltd;
14. Sol Invictus 6 BESS, bid by Sol Invictus 6 (Pty) Ltd;
15. Sonbesie BESS, bid by Sonbesie Power Plant (RF) (Pty) Ltd;
16. Tulip, bid by Veld PV South (Pty) Ltd;
17. Zuurwater BESS, bid by Aggeneis PV2 (Pty) Ltd;

No details are provided on who is behind these companies, the location (substation) of the projects or the tariffs bidded. The DMRE did not state when the winning projects would be announced.

Author: Bryan Groenendaal