Name of the Project
Battery energy storage system (BESS) projects.

Location
Several sites in South Africa.

Project Owner/s
State-owned power utility Eskom.

Project Description
Eskom confirmed the award of contracts for the provision of battery storage solutions in terms of its flagship BESS project in July 2022. The contracts were awarded to Hyosung Heavy Industries, of South Korea, and the Pinggao Group, of China.

The contracts are the first part of the 500 MW BESS initiative announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on July 25 as part of government’s measures to tackle South Africa’s long-running electricity crisis.

The contract is for the design, supply and installation, as well as operation and maintenance, over a five-year period.

The project is designed to use large-scale utility batteries with a capacity of 1 440 MWh/d and a 60 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity, to be implemented in two phases.

Phase 1 includes the installation of about 199 MW of additional capacity, which includes:

• Skaapvlei (80 MW/320 MWh),

• Hex (20 MW/100 MWh),

• Graafwater (5 MW/30 MWh), and Paleisheuwel (9.5 MW/45 MWh), in the Western Cape.

Other installations include:

• Melkhout (35 MW/140 MWh), in the Eastern Cape,

• Elandskop (8 MW/32 MWh) and Pongola (40 MW/160 MWh), in KwaZulu-Natal, and

• Rietfontein (1.54 MW/6.16 MWh), in the Northern Cape.

With four hours of storage, this amounts to 833 MWh storage of distributed battery storage plants at eight Eskom distribution substation sites. This phase also includes about 2 MW of solar PV capacity.

Phase 2 includes the installation of 144 MW, which includes:

• Witzenberg (17 MW/68 MWh) and Ashton (17 MW/68 MWh), in the Western Cape, and

• Cuprum (70 MW/280 MWh) and Kiwano (40 MW/200 MWh), in the Northern Cape.

This is equivalent to 616 MWh at four Eskom distribution sites and one transmission site. The solar PV capacity in this phase is 58 MW.

Pinggao has been awarded contracts for Skaapvlei, Paleisheuwel and Graafwater projects, while Hyosung has been awarded the contracts for Pongola, Elandskop and Hex.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
The Pinggao Group’s and Hyosung Heavy Industries’ contracts are collectively valued at R4.4-billion. The second phase will cost an estimated R6-billion. The project is cofinanced by the African Development Bank, the New Development Bank, the World Bank and the Clean Technology Fund.

Planned Start/End Date
All Phase 1 sites are planned to be commissioned by June 30, 2023, and Phase 2 by December 2024.

Latest Developments
Eskom and Hyosung Heavy Industries marked the start of construction of the first energy storage facility under the BESS project on December 7.

Eskom confirmed the award of contracts with a combined value of R4.4-billion to Hyosung and the Pinggao Group in July. The BESS projects will be delivered across several sites by the end of June 2023.

The sod-turning ceremony for the first BESS was held at the Elandskop site, within the Msunduzi and Impendle local municipalities, in KwaZulu-Natal.

Construction will take between seven and 12 months and the batteries on the site will be charged from the main grid through Eskom’s Elandskop substation.

The facility will have a capacity of 8 MW, equivalent to 32 MWh of distributed electricity, enough to power a town, such as Howick, for four hours. 

The BESS project will use large-scale utility batteries with a capacity of 1 440 MWh/d and a 60 MW of PV capacity. It will be one of the biggest BESS projects to be developed and implemented in South Africa.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Pinggao Group (Skaapvlei, Paleisheuwel and Graafwater projects); Pinggao sub-engineering, procurement and construction contractor Proconics (substation upgrades and electrical and civil balance of plant); and Hyosung Heavy Industries (Pongola, Elandskop and Hex).

Contact Details for Project Information
Eskom media desk, email mediadesk@eskom.co.za.