The battery energy storage system in Tonga. Image: Akuo corporate video screenshot
French renewable power producer and developer Akuo Energy has commissioned a 29.2MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Tonga, several weeks after powering up a 19MWh project in Martinique.
The Tonga 1 and Tonga 2 storage systems are on Tongatapu, the main island in the archipelagic South Pacific nation, and connect to the grid of public operator Tonga Power Limited.
The two total 16.5MW of power and 29.2MWh of energy making this the largest BESS in the South Pacific, Akuo said. Both individual systems comprise Akuo’s Storage GEM modular containerised solution, three for Tonga 1 and five for Tonga 2.
Tonga 1 is a 9.3MW/5.3MWh designed to improve grid stability, with a duration of just 34 minutes. Tonga 2 is a 3.3-hour system with 7.2MW/23.9MWh of energy, designed primarily for load shifting.
They have already allowed Tonga to double its renewable energy capacity with the recent addition of 6MW in solar PV power, bringing the country’s renewable mix to around 20%. It aims for 70% by 2030.
The BESS also demonstrated its resilience during a tsunami in January which devastated the coastline and cut the country off from the outside world. The BESS continued operating and helped stabilise the grid in the days following the natural disaster.
The two projects totalled US$53 million in investment, of which 56% was from the UN’s Green Climate Fund, 23% from the Asian Development Bank, 10% from the Tongan government, 6% from Tonga Power and 5% from the Australian government. Energy Storage - link - Cameron Murray - link - more like this (energy storage) - link - more like this (France) - link
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