Utility Taps Tesla Megapacks For 1st Energy Storage Installation In Qatar
Qatar Utility Contracts New 1 MW/4 MWh Tesla Powerpack System
The Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA) has tapped Tesla for the first energy storage installation in the State of Qatar. The new 1 MW/4 MWh Tesla Megapack installation will supply power at peak consumption and provide power during off-peak periods.
The Quatar Utility installed the Tesla Megapack as part of a pilot to explore the potential for grid-scale batteries to stabilize the grid in multiple areas. First and foremost, the installation will absorb excess power from the grid, feeding it back in at peak consumption. Tesla batteries are being tapped to shave the peaks off of grid consumption, replacing legacy natural gas peaker plants around the world.
Just a few miles down the road from my house in Oxnard, California, a Tesla installation will replace a massive natural gas peaker plant, and the same results are being sought on the other side of the planet with this installation in Qatar. As the cost of grid-scale batteries like Tesla’s Megapacks continue to fall, the economics will drive the replacement of more and more peaker plants around the world. At the end of the day, grid operators are opting for batteries to save money, not to reduce emissions, but they accomplish both.
In Qatar, the Tesla Megapack installation was facilitated in partnership with Al Attiyah Group and Tesla, where the batteries were installed adjacent to a substation near the local metro station in Nuaija, Qatar. The batteries will also be leveraged to improve the network voltage for the grid, pulling additional power from the batteries for the grid and absorbing voltage spikes as needed throughout the day.
Installation of the project took almost one year, with KAHRAMAA wrapping up the project ahead of schedule and just in time for the electricity-intensive summer season when air conditioners kick into high gear for the majority of the season. The cost of the system was 10 million Qatar Rials / $2.7 million USD.
The project was run from end to end by local resources in Qatar, from design, planning, implementation, and into operation. As the first grid-scale battery installation in the State of Qatar, the installation came with more than its fair share of challenges for the team. At the end of the day, the team was able to overcome every barrier along the way, ending with the successful installation of the new Megapack.
If the pilot proves successful, it will open the door for more energy storage installations across Qatar, especially at renewable sites like the 800 MW Al Kharsaah Solar Power Project.
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Source: KAHRAMAA via PV Magazine
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