Renewable energy technology manufacturer, JinkoSolar Holding Co Ltd, has this week announced that it will supply a 1.2MWh energy storage system to West Africa. Jinko says its all-in-one, fully integrated modular and compact solution minimizes complexity of deployment activities, and delivers the lowest lifecycle costs.
“For us, this is a milestone project of delivering an ESS system to Africa. It is one of our initial storage projects globally on this scale using DC-coupling. Africa is a very promising market for energy storage due to relatively poor state grid infrastructure and high electricity price. There is a strong potential to replace peaker gas or coal fired plants in Africa with cleaner alternatives like solar made dispatchable using batteries,” said Gener Miao, CMO of Jinkosolar.
JinkoSolar’s experience in solar, storage, complex multi-application systems resulted in offering a new solution in African market: integrating batteries, Power Conditioning System (PCS), DC modular, switch cabinets, with EMS software.
JinkoSolar’s DC coupled battery storage system can meet project requirements of varying scale and is suitable for various environmental conditions, making it an ideal solution for grid ancillary services and C&I applications while ensuring reliability and safety.
The potential advantage of this DC coupled solution Includes improved system efficiency, lower balance of plant costs, and clipped solar recapture. With storage attached to the solar system, the batteries can be charged with excess solar generation when the PV reaches its peak and would otherwise begin clipping.
The stored energy can be introduced into the grid at the appropriate time, maximizing the value of the system’s generation. The flexibility and broad capabilities of the EMS software enable effective and efficient control and management over the entire system, compatible with solar, wind, grid, and diesel engines.
Pumped hydro dams are prominently used as energy storage in West Africa, but that is changing with the increase in renewable energy and battery energy storage systems. The falling prices of renewable energy technology could drive the uptake of battery energy storage systems within the African market.
