Energetica India Magazine -October 2020

NEWS ENERGY STORAGE Sterling and Wilson Consortium Wins Solar PV, Diesel and Battery Storage Project in Africa Wärtsilä Bags 90 MW Energy Storage System Order from SE Asian Customer Adding another feather in its cap, Ster- ling and Wilson Pvt Ltd (SWPL) has won another solar plus storage hybrid power plant project in Africa through its Hybrid & Energy Storage division (HES). Further, the HES division of the compa- ny in consortium partnership with French EPC company Vergnet and SNS Niger, has entered into an EPC contract to con- struct a solar photovoltaic (PV) battery storage and diesel genset based hybrid power plant in Agadez, Niger, in West Africa. The tender was issued by the Ni- gerian Electricity Company (NIGELEC). Niger is a landlocked country located in West Africa, and has only recently resort- ed to Solar PV and Diesel with Battery Storage Hybrid project as an energy source for such remote locations. Commenting on the project win, Deepak Thakur, CEO of Hybrid & Energy Stor- age, Sterling and Wilson said that, “we are extremely delighted to have secured another prestigious opportunity in Africa after successfully commissioning Ni- geria’s first solar storage hybrid power plant, which is also Africa’s largest bat- tery energy storage system. Hybrid en- ergy solutions is a huge opportunity as many power generation and distribution companies in places like Africa are mov- ing into renewables.” Moreover, the project consists of 18.9MWp solar + 11.55MWh/3.0 MVA battery energy storage system (BESS) + 6.54 MVA (2.18 x 3 MVA) diesel gener- ator and 20 kV substation, and evacua- tion line up to the Nigelec Substation in Agadez. The project would be Niger’s first ground-mounted Solar PV, Diesel and Battery Storage based power plant and is crucial for Agadez, a city which is located at the gateway to the Sahara Desert and isolated from the rest of the country. Besides, this consortium will also be responsible for a 2-year operation and maintenance (O&M) service of the pow- er plant. “As one of the leading turnkey EPC solution providers globally, with project management, engineering and delivery expertise of over 11 GW of diversified energy offerings across geographies, along with our consortium partners, we are committed to deliver this project well on-time, fully complying with the strin- gent quality and safety standards,” add- ed Mr Thakur. The project also includes the rehabilita- tion of the electrical network of the city of Agadez, which does not allow the evac- uation of electricity to and within the city, and the electrification of the neighbour - ing hamlet of Tibinitene. The O&M services will comprise com- plete system and rehabilitation of the electrical network of the city of Agadez, and the electrification of the neighbour - ing hamlet of Tibinitene. Additionally, the consortium will provide project management assistance and in- stitutional support to train engineers and technicians of Nigelec in photovoltaic technologies to enable them to operate large-scale solar power plants in the short term and to ensure smooth func- tioning of the plant even after two years. Technology group Wärtsilä has been awarded a repeat order for energy stor- age system (ESS) aggregating 90 MW / 90 MWh from an existing South East Asian customer. This solution, which includes propriety software and hardware solutions, is ex- pected to provide much needed flexi - bility and reliable grid support and will allow further integration of energy from renewable sources, such as solar and wind power. The company has booked the engi- neering, procurement, and construction (EPC) order during the third quarter of 2020. It’s GridSolv Max solution is a stan- dardised solution that provides flexible and modular storage for the core hard- ware assets within the company energy storage systems, including batteries, a safety and fire system, and inverters. Commenting on the order win, Nicolas Leong, Wärtsilä Energy Business Di- rector, North and South East Asia, said “this contract represents a further en- dorsement of Wärtsilä’s EPC capabilities, which have been sharpened with expe- rience from similar regional projects. Our speed of execution and the coordination between the teams involved provides the support demanded and delivers an opti- mised solution to the customer.” The company claimed that it’s GEMS platform can react almost instanta- neously to smooth the integration of re- newables, thereby enabling the grid to become more responsive and stable. With GEMS, grid operators can rely on renewables for baseload power. Meanwhile, the company has a strong presence in South East Asia with a total installed capacity above 9 GW of which 2 GW were executed as EPC delivery in- cluding approximately 300 MW of energy storage. 12 energetica INDIA- October_2020