“Battery storage will be crucial in the effort to decarbonise and lower emissions from energy production. For Africa in particular, it is an ideal technology, enabling us to capture more of the abundant wind and solar energy available and use it to provide clean, affordable power at scale.
Designed to generate electricity for 10 hours per day through its four 250 MW turbine generators, the Drakensberg Pumped Storage Scheme is an energy storage facility, situated in the northern parts of the Drakensberg Mountain range of South Africa, which provides up to 27.6 GWh of electricity storage.
Vietnam also participated in the BESS consortium launch showing its commitment to clean energy transition. Battery Energy Storage Systems are a critical element to increasing the reliability of grids and accommodating the variable renewable energy sources that are needed to power economic development.
Straddling the border of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal and Free State provinces, the Ingula PSS has an energy storage capacity of 21 GWh, or 15.8 electricity generating hours.
Battery Energy Storage Systems are a critical element to increasing the reliability of grids and accommodating the variable renewable energy sources that are needed to power economic development. In many cases, a combination of BESS and renewables are already cheaper than fossil fuel alternatives.
Securing 5 GW of energy storage commitments by the end of 2024 is a key deliverable of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet’s Global Leadership Council, which was formed in 2022 to significantly reduce the cost of renewable energy technologies in LMICs while increasing their accessibility and addressing the climate crisis.