Philippine utility Aboitiz Power and Norwegian renewable energy group Scatec have signed an EPC agreement with Hitachi Energy to deploy a 20MW/20MWh battery energy storage system that will come online in 2024.
SNAP, a joint venture between Aboitiz Power and Scatec, has made a final investment decision for the deployment of a battery energy storage project at the operating Magat hydropower plant in Isabela, northern Philippines.
SNAP signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement with Hitachi Energy on March 25, and construction work on the project will begin later this year, with financing provided by Bank of the Philippine Islands and Bank of China.
While the two companies did not specify their size in the press release, Aboitiz Power has stated several times in October last year and in January this year that the scale of the battery storage system deployed at the Magat hydropower station is 20MW/20MW. For the project, SNAP will consider upgrading the nearby Magat-Santiago transmission line to ensure full dispatch of the Magat power plant capacity, battery energy storage systems and the expansion of a floating solar farm in its vicinity.
The press release also claims that the battery storage system has the potential to expand installed capacity to 24MW and is expected to be used primarily to provide ancillary services, but will also dispatch power to the grid during periods of peak demand for electricity.
The Philippine government has set a goal of deploying 20GW of renewable energy by 2040. SNAP was originally founded by another Nordic group, SN Power, which was later acquired by Scatec. Today, SNAP operates hydropower plants with a total installed capacity of 640MW in the Philippines.
This battery energy storage system is one of 12 battery energy storage projects being deployed by Aboitiz Power. The 12 energy storage projects to be deployed in the next 10 years have a total installed capacity of 248MW and will be used for emergency reserves. The first battery storage system is a 49MW battery storage system on Maco's floating power station, which is expected to begin commercial operation in 2022.
Norway-listed Scatec is targeting 15GW of renewable energy capacity either in operation or under construction by the end of 2025. Aboitiz Power aims to deploy 9.2GW of power generation facilities by 2030, half of which is renewable energy and the rest natural gas power generation facilities. The company has committed to a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants and is working with the World Bank on how to decarbonize its portfolio.
Aboitiz is the largest power company in the Philippines, and together with SMC Global Power, it has a 21% market share in the Philippines. SMC Global Power has ordered a number of energy storage system projects from a number of energy storage system integrators including Fluence, Wärtsilä and ABB, with a total investment portfolio of US$1 billion.
