A double-header of news from Central America and the Caribbean, with Belize seeking consultants for a 40MW storage project and Wärtsilä commissioning a hybrid project in the US Virgin Islands.
Belize ministry procuring services for BESS procurement
The Central American country of Belize is seeking services related to the procurement of a 40MW battery energy storage system (BESS) project.
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The Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment is seeking expressions of interest (EOI) from consultants and experts to assist it with the Belize Renewable Integration and Resilient Energy System Project, using World Bank funding.
Interested consultants have until 2pm local time on 8 August—this coming Thursday—to provide information demonstrating their suitability to provide goods, consulting and non-consulting services for the project.
Contact details for the EOI process can be found here.
The Belize Renewable Integration and Resilient Energy System Project is aimed at improving the resilience of the electricity system against extreme climates by strengthening the national transmission infrastructure.
It will fund the acquisition and deployment of BESS to enable the integration of renewable energy onto the grid, and improve resiliency and reliability of electrical supply. A total of US$65 million will be invested in the project, according to the World Bank.
The project’s primary implementing agency is Belize Electricity Limited, the country’s main utility and network operator.
It comes shortly after nearby Honduras progressed the reform of its electricity market to enable the deployment of energy storage at scale on its grid.
Wärtsilä completes generators-plus-BESS on US Virgin Islands
In concurrent news, the publicly-owned utility for the US Virgin Islands has announced the completion of a new BESS alongside upgrades to an existing gas power plant, the Randolph Harley Power Plant (RHPP).
The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA) announced the completion last month (24 July) after which it began final commissioning of the generators and BESS equipment.
As Energy-Storage.news reported when the project neared completion last year, system integrator Wärtsilä provided a hybrid solution combining four 9MW fossil fuel engines together with a 9MW, 2-hour duration (18MWh) BESS unit. The company got the contract for the job in 2020, which was delayed due to Covid-19.
The fossil fuel engines totalling 32MW of power run on liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and light fuel oil (LFO).
Finland-headquartered Wärtsilä is active in supplying island power solutions, also providing a 25MW/25MWh BESS on another Carribean island, Curaçao.
Earlier this year, the Comisión Nacional De Energia of the Dominican Republic started construction on a 99MWh BESS in the country.
