SA should invest more in energy storage such as batteries to help ease the electricity crisis but existing projects were far below the level needed, a think-tank report says.
Battery energy storage systems in the pipeline for development still fall far short of the 4GW of batteries needed by 2026, according to the Eskom transmission development plan.
This is according to a new report by independent think-tank the International Institute for Sustainable Development about how energy or grid storage, using utility-scale, grid-located batteries, can contribute to solving the electricity crisis.
So far 2023 has been the worst load-shedding year on record. The many interventions taken by the government and Eskom to close the gap between electricity supply and demand are slowly reducing load-shedding hours but there is still uncertainty about when load-shedding will end.
The International Institute for Sustainable Development report argues that using energy storage in combination with existing plants, excess electricity supply at times of low demand can be stored rather than lost. This can then be used at peak times to help meet demand and reduce load-shedding.
Speaking at the launch of the report, Richard Halsey, policy adviser at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, said grid storage has received little attention in discussions on how to combat the electricity crisis and requires more political support.
Most potential grid storage facilities, such as those contracted under the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, are delayed. Deployment of new grid storage, especially batteries, is only just beginning in SA and at a much slower pace than required, Halsey said.
SA also had to develop national and municipal grid storage strategies, which will signal to the energy storage industry that it can develop local supply chains for the manufacture of utility scale batteries, he said.
Best indicator
The International Institute for Sustainable Development report does not provide modelling on the amount of energy storage needed in SA over the next few years, but Halsey said the Eskom transmission development plan seems to be the best available indication of what is needed.
“That work factors in both the energy supply needs but also what will help the grid. The plan suggests 4.1GW batteries by 2026. What is telling is that the most recent transmission development plan has tripled batteries allocation to 2032 if compared to the previous year’s plan. This would indicate significantly more storage [and batteries in the short term] should be included in the revised Integrated Resources Plan (IRP),” he said.
The IRP 2019 for national electricity infrastructure development includes 2.1GW of energy storage by 2030. This will be in the form of batteries, with the request for proposals for the first 513MW released in March by the department of mineral resources & energy.
The bid submission date was recently extended to August 2.
An updated IRP 2023 is expected to be released before the end of the year.
The battery energy storage system project launched by Eskom in 2022 targets adding 500MW of battery storage over a five-year period. Phase one, which is planned to be commissioned this year, will add about 200MW and phase two, to be commissioned by December 2024, will add another 144MW.
Projects appointed under the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme will add a total of 150MW via hybrid plants comprising solar PV and battery energy storage.
As SA ramps up the share of renewables in the energy mix energy storage will be needed to complement these new utility scale renewable energy plants which are intermittent, allowing for electricity to be supplied at a wide range of times.
But the International Institute for Sustainable Development report said focusing only on the role of energy storage to address the variability of renewable energy underplays the overall value that energy storage can add to the power system.
Energy storage can also optimise constrained and congested grids, effectively squeezing more out of limited infrastructure.
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