A 19.8MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) is to be added to an existing solar-plus-storage facility in the Republic of Palau, with Australian development finance backing the expansion of one of the Western Pacific’s flagship hybrid renewable energy projects.

The small island nation of Palau in the western Pacific Ocean has moved a step closer to having what is said to be the largest ever microgrid spanning diesel, solar and battery energy storage.