- South Africa has signed the first Project Agreements and Commercial Close of the first two Bidder projects under the Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (BESIPPPP).
“With a combined capacity of 180 MW/720 MWh, the two projects will enhance our energy landscape and connect to key transmission substations in the Northern Cape and North-West provinces,” said Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, South Africa’s Minister of Energy and Electricity posted on X.
One of the projects is developed by French IPP, EDF International in partnership with local IPP, Mulilo. The 77 MW AC / 308 MWh battery energy storage project is located in Vryburg, North-West Province. Both projects were procured under ESIPPPP Bid Window 1.
The second project is Scatec’s Mogobe battery energy storage system facility totaling 103 MW / 412 MWh in Northern Cape.
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (now the Department of Energy and Electricity) is procuring new generation capacity from battery energy storage in accordance with ministerial determinations gazetted under the Integrated Resource Plan 2019. The department released and announced the first bid window calling for 513 mw during 2023. In line with the third ministerial determination, the department will procure another 1231 MW through two bid windows RFP’s respectively, procuring 615 mw and 616 mw by no later than March 2024.
The programme has been plagued by repeated submission deadline extensions. Read more
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
