- USTDA has provided a $1 million grant to fund feasibility studies for large-scale battery storage projects in Mozambique and Senegal.
- The Senegal Battery Energy Storage System is co-located at the Parc Eolien Taiba N’Diaye 158.7MW wind facility.
The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has provided a $1 million grant to fund feasibility studies for large-scale battery storage projects in Mozambique and Senegal. The projects are co-located with wind generation in Senegal and Mozambique. The USTDA last year awarded a grant for the Senegal Battery Storage for Grid Resiliency Project. The grant was awarded to Lekela Energie Stockage, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) subsidiary set up and owned by renewable project developer Lekela Power.
Lekela Power operates three large wind farms in South Africa and Senegal’s largest – the Parc Eolien Taiba N’Diaye 158.7MW facility. The Battery Energy Storage System to be co-located at the size will likely have a size of 40MW and 175MWh capacity, enabling the dispatch of wind energy for over four hours.
Read also: USTDA Provides Grant for Rural Solar Mini-Grid Projects Across Nigeria.
Lekela Power CEO Chris Antonopoulos said in September 2020, as the project was picked out by the USTDA, “If successful, this project has the potential to catapult Senegal to the forefront of renewable energy usage in modern-day grids. Wind power has been deployed for decades in some countries. Yet, only months after turning on Senegal’s first-ever wind farm, we are now investigating how to integrate battery storage to the site.”
In Mozambique, POWER Engineers, a consulting firm, was selected to work alongside the financial advisory firm Delphos International on a feasibility study for the USTDA-supported 30MW wind power and battery storage project Mozambique. It is expected that the project will indicate the viability of BEES systems in helping to balance local grids and their suitability for use in other projects in the region.
These studies will focus on the technical, financial and commercial practicality of the project, including a wind resource assessment, review of energy storage technology and commercial viability, and an electrical interconnection study.