AES Energy Storage Project Planned For The Philippines
AES will construct the second battery-based energy storage facility in the Philippines in Zambales, near the Masinloc power plant. It has been reported that the capacity is 10 MW, but the number of megawatt-hours has not be referenced yet (unless it is actually 10 MWh and written incorrectly, which is quite likely). Construction will begin towards the end of 2015, and be finished in mid-2016. Zambales is a coastal province on the island of Luzon. Masinloc is a town within Zambales and it has a coal-fired thermal power plant with a total capacity of 600 MW provided by two 300 MW units. Purchased for about $930 million in 2008 by AES, the plant is now also operated by its sort of newish owner.
Kabankalan in Negros Occidental is the site of another AES energy storage project in the Philippines and this one is specifically related to storing electricity generated from solar power. This area also has a 46 MW biomass power plant, and it has been reported that a French company is intending to build a 100 MW solar power plant. A 22 MW plant completed by a German company has already been completed.
“We see energy storage bringing significant benefits for customers in the Philippines, which is short on reserve capacity, has increasing levels of variable-output renewable plants, and faces challenges associated with an island-based grid system,” said Neeraj Bhat, AES Philippines managing director. Scalability, decreasing costs, and responsiveness have been cited as some of the reasons for choosing this form of energy storage.
“With more efficient balancing of supply and demand, it will also lower costs to consumers, help meet renewables targets, and improve the stability of Luzon’s transmission system,” explained AES Philippines. Battery-based energy storage might seem more likely to be paired with solar power, but it doesn’t have to be, because it has its own merits.
It is fascinating to see a potential market emerging. Solar power seems to have pushed battery storage into the foreground — is it beginning to stand on its own?
You can find advantages of AES Energy Storage’s Advancion battery storage product on its website.
Image Credit: Ramon FVelasquez, Wiki Commons
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