Winning Bidders Unveiled for Battery Storage IPP Bid Window One

The announcement of the four preferred bidders under the first Battery Storage IPP (BESIPPPP) bid window marks a significant development in South Africa’s pursuit of energy security. SANews reports that Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe highlighted this milestone during the announcement of the bidders on Thursday. The preferred bidders were chosen through an independent evaluation held between August and October this year. “This first grid-scale energy storage programme in South Africa marks yet another important step towards the development of adequate electricity generation capacity,” said Mantashe, aligning with the Integrated Resource Plan (2019) for the country’s energy demand.

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The BESIPPPP Programme Bid Window 1, designed for the procurement of up to 513 megawatts (MW), aims to provide Capacity, Energy, and Ancillary Services to Eskom at 5 specified sites, with only one Preferred Bidder appointed per site, according to Mantashe. From a pool of at least 17 bidders, the four preferred bidders are Oasis Aggeneis, Mogobe BESS, Oasis Mookodi, and Oasis Nieuwehoop. Mantashe anticipates the appointment of a fifth bidder based on the department’s benchmarking exercise. These preferred bidders have committed to significant economic development, creating 992 job opportunities for South African citizens during construction and operations, with substantial investments in local content and preferential procurement.

In addition to the Battery Storage IPP bid announcement, Mantashe revealed that project agreements have been signed with an additional bidder under the Risk Mitigation IPP Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP). The 75MW project, a hybrid Solar PV and Battery Storage technology solution in De Aar, Northern Cape, is expected to reach commercial close by mid-December 2023, commencing construction in early 2024 and contributing 428MW of dispatchable capacity to the national grid by early 2026. The total new generating capacity secured through various Independent Power Producer (IPP) programmes now stands at 1384MW, with significant progress in Bid Window 5 of the Renewable Energy IPP Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) and preparations for Bid Window 7, Gas-to-Power, and Battery Storage procurement. Further announcements are expected in the coming weeks.

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Picture: X / GwedeMantashe1

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