France-based renewable energy and service provider Voltalia is to provide two battery storage units with an aggregate capacity of 10 megawatts to improve grid reliability in French Guiana.
Voltalia has been selected by the French National Energy Regulation Commission (CRE) to build and maintain the lithium-ion storage units. The 10-year remuneration contract for the projects starts when the units are commissioned— which is expected to be at the end of 2019.
Voltalia said the units would tackle different issues faced by the French territory in South America. The first, 5MW/5 megawatt-hour unit will be used to store energy generated in the middle of the day and release it during the peak consumption period in the evening as required. This unit will cover roughly 4% of the region’s daily peak power consumption.
The second, 5MW/2.5MWh, unit will regulate the frequency of the network and help to reduce the frequent power outages experienced in the region.
The so-called ‘Mana storage’ project will be Voltalia’s second in French Guiana, following the 4MW Savane des Pères solar plant, which was the company’s first solar project with energy storage.