- Canadian Solar awarded the first BESS project in Colombia.
- The 45MW/45MWh battery storage will help improve grid reliability and improve RE addition to the grid.
Solar PV company Canadian Solar has been awarded a 45MW/45MWh battery storage project by Colombia’s Ministry of Energy and Mines. The ministry’s Energy Mining Planning Unit (UPME) launched the tender earlier this year to deploy grid-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) technology. The project is expected to help alleviate grid constraints and boost grid reliability in Barranquilla. The BESS is also expected to enable the increased addition of renewable energy to the grid network.
While announcing the award, Canadian Solar stated that teh Colombian government had granted a 15-year revenue structure indexed to Colombia’s inflation or producer price index.
Canadian Solar CEO and chairman Dr Shawn Qu stated, “we are very proud to have won this project in the first pure storage tender in Colombia. This is also our first energy storage project in the country and the Latin America region.” The project is expected to commence commercial operation by June of 2023.
Canadian Solar currently have several new and retrofit projects underway in the US. In addition, the company is looking to expand and execute its “global energy storage growth strategy”.