The Energy Storage Report 2024

Now available to download, covering deployments, technology, policy and finance in the energy storage market

Leclanché and MPC’s solar-plus-storage project on Caribbean island breaks ground

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

Construction has begun on a solar-plus-storage project on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts & Nevis, backed by Leclanché, Solrid and MPC Energy Solutions.

The launch of the SOLEC power plant is nearly 18 months later than expected with the start of construction first announced back in December 2020, covered by Energy-Storage.news. Covid had a role to play in delaying the project, which pairs a 35.6MW solar PV farm with 44.2MWh of lithium-ion battery storage, but extra funding which helped move it forward was secured in March 2021.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Since March 2021, MPC Energy Solutions became a shareholder in SOLEC alongside the original backers of the project, Swiss-based vertically integrated lithium-ion battery manufacturer Leclanché and local company Solrid.

Leclanché has the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract and will also provide its in-house Energy Management Software for the long-term running of the plant.

SOLEC will provide state-owned utility St Kitts Electric Company (SKELEC), which has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for the offtake, with roughly a third of the island’s energy needs.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony on Friday 17 June, MPC CEO Martin Vogt said: “Today marks the start of a pioneering hybrid renewable energy project that combines solar power and battery storage not just for Saint Kitts and Nevis, but for the entire Caribbean region. This is the first of its kind and the first utility-scale power plant to combine these two technologies here in the region.”

“Once operational, this project will demonstrate the material advantages that hybrid projects can offer for the generation and storage of energy, grid integration and grid support as much as a competitive cost basis compared to conventional power.”

He described SOLEC as a “US$75 million project” and praised its mandated lender CIBC during the ceremony.

Read Next

March 28, 2024
Solar PV inverter and battery energy storage system (BESS) manufacturer Sungrow has signed a strategic supply agreement with Gulf Energy Development in Thailand.
March 27, 2024
The energy storage arm of EV supercar technology firm Rimac has opened its UK innovation and manufacturing facility, where it will build the first units of its SineStack BESS platform.
March 26, 2024
UK-based energy company Statera Energy has secured planning consent for a 290MW/1,740MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) to be developed in Southwest England.
March 25, 2024
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is funding trial deployments of two different non-lithium battery technologies at microgrids in Western Australia.
March 22, 2024
Harmony Energy and Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) have energised a 99MW/198MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Essex.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter