A roundup of energy storage news from across the continent of Africa, with Morocco’s ONEE shortlisting bidders for a pumped hydro project, Somalia launching a grid-scale solar and storage tender, and a microgrid pairing grid-scale solar, BESS and diesel at a mine in Zambia.
Morocco: utility ONEE progresses 300-400MW pumped hydro
Electric and water utility ONEE (l’Office National de l’Electricité) has pre-qualified three bidders for the construction of its El Menzel STEP pumped hydro energy storage project in Morocco, out of six qualified bidders following a call to tender.
The three companies that will now be invited to submit detailed technical and financial proposals for building the project all appear to be China-based, and some of the names may be familiar to Energy-Storage.news readers.
The first is a consortium consisting of China International Water & Electric Corp, Yellow River Engineering Consulting, Harbin Electric Machinery Company, Harbi Electric International and Company Jet Contractors. The second is a consortium of Sinohydro and Andritz Hydro while the third is a consortium of Webuild and Dongfang Electric International Corporation.
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Power plant equipment construction firm Harbin Electric embarked on a large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) in Turkey last year while Swiss hydropower technology specialist Andritz has been contracted for projects globally, including India, Scotland and China, where it provided turbines for the world’s largest pumped hydro project.
An energy storage capacity of the El Menzel project wasn’t given, but pumped hydro would typically provide 8-20 hours, or more, of discharge duration.
A year and a half ago, state-funded renewable energy development organisation Masen launched a solar and storage tender seeking 400MWh of storage capacity. Morocco is aiming for 52% renewables by 2030.
Somalia: World Bank-funded solar and storage project progresses
The Ministry of Energy and Water Resources (MoEWR) of Somalia has invited bidders for the design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of a 10MWp solar, 20MWh BESS project.
The ‘Somali Electricity Sector Recovery Project (SERP)’ process is a two-envelope bidding process, without prequalification, and bids are due by 10 February, 2025.
The contract would also involve building a 9km, 33kV evacuation line to connect to the a grid connection point run by by utility NECSOM in Garowe, Puntland State. The available land for the project is 290 hectares.
A grid controller system with frequency loop control mode is required, and the optimisation configuration designates the PV as the given priority, with BESS the second priority and Genset the third priority.
More procurement and contact details can be found on the World Bank website here.
The MoEWR tendered for the provision of 46 off-grid solar and storage projects at education facilities last year, all in all totalling a little over 5MWh of energy storage capacity.
Africa’s largest solar, storage and diesel microgrid in Zambia
The Zambia Ruida Mining Microgrid Power Project, which combines solar PV, BESS and diesel backup power at a mine in Zambia, has been commissioned.
Heavy equipment manufacturing firm Sany Group announced the completion of the project last week (7 January), which it said came just four months after a power purchase agreement (PPA) for it was signed.
It comprises a 13MWp solar PV system, a 39MWh BESS and a diesel generator as backup power. Sany described it as a “cutting-edge integrated microgrid system seamlessly harmonising solar, storage, and diesel technologies”.
The project will provide a dependable electricity supply for mining operations, diminish reliance on conventional energy sources and and bolstering energy efficiency and sustainability, Sany said.
