Guyana launches 34MWh tender for battery energy storage alongside solar PV
Guyana
Guyana, a country on South America’s north coast, has issued an invitation for bids for energy storage projects with a combined capacity of 34MWh.
The Guyana Utility Scale Solar Photovoltaic Program (GUYSOL) is now seeking bids for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the eight solar PV projects and 34MWh of associated energy storage. Bids must be submitted by March 7, 2023.
It comes six months after the country received US$83 million in financing from Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, as reported by Energy-Storage.news at the time.
The eight ground-mounted solar PV plants will total 33MWp while the battery energy storage systems (BESS) will amount to 34MWh of capacity. It is not yet clear how many BESS units are being deployed, but it is unlikely to be eight since of a portion of the PV projects are standalone.
A document from Guyana Power and Light Inc, the agency executing on the process, did not specify the required power output of the BESS either.
The projects will spread across the country’s three separate electricity grids; the Linden Isolated Power System (LIS), Essequibo Coast Isolated Power System (EIS) and Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS).
Three solar PV plants totalling 15MWp will be installed with a minimum of 22MWh of battery storage in the LIS, two solar PV plants totalling 8MWp with 12MWh of storage in the EIS and some 10MWp of standalone PV will be installed in the DBIS.
The projects will help to lower emissions, reduce the cost of running the three grids and support the country’s transition to renewable energy.
Bidding will be conducted through International Competitive Bidding (ICB) procedures specified in IDB’s Policies for the Procurement of Goods and Works.
Guyana is not to be confused with French Guiana, an overseas territory of France which is also located on the north coast of South America.
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