By Ted P. Torres (The
Philippine Star) | Updated November 8, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines – AES
Philippines has started construction of its first energy storage facility in
Asia.
The plant, which will be the first
battery-based energy storage facility in the Philippines, will be located next
to the Masinloc power plant in Zambales.
Called the Masinloc Advancion Energy
Storage Array, the facility will provide 10 megawatts of interconnected
capacity on the Luzon grid.
The energy storage array will
enhance grid reliability by providing fast response ancillary services like
frequency regulation. With more efficient balancing of supply and demand, it
will also lower costs to consumers, help meet renewables targets, and improve
the stability of Luzon’s transmission system.
AES Philippines is a subsidiary of
The AES Corp., a Fortune 200 global power company with a diverse portfolio of
generation and distribution businesses. It provides affordable and
sustainable energy to 18 countries on four continents.
Across the world, regulators and
system operators are increasingly turning to advanced energy storage as a
solution for ancillary and other grid services due to its flexibility, speed of
response, scalability, and rapidly decreasing costs.
This solution is particularly
attractive to island grids that face unique challenges in instantaneously
matching supply and demand across a smaller pool of resources.
Energy storage can perform this
function more effectively than traditional grid resources, resulting in cost
savings and lower emissions system-wide.
Site work in Masinloc will begin by
the end of 2015 and is slated for completion by mid-2016.
AES Philippines managing director
Neeraj Bhat said energy storage brings significant benefits for customers in
the Philippines, which is short on reserve capacity.
The Philippines has increasing
levels of variable-output renewable plants, and faces challenges associated
with an island-based grid system.
“AES Philippines is pleased to work
with key stakeholders including NGCP (National Gris Corporation of the Philippines),
the Department of Energy, and the Energy Regulatory Commission to make the
Philippines a leader in embracing smart and innovative solutions to meet its
customers’ power needs,” Bhat added.
AES is actively developing other
battery-based energy storage systems across the Philippines, including a
project in Negros Occidental, which would improve the grid’s ability to
incorporate the significant volume of renewable generation coming online in the
Visayas in 2016.
According to Bhat, the company sent
NGCP a very competitive offer to provide frequency regulation services from its
Negros project.
“We look forward to working with
them on an ancillary services agreement so that the facility can help balance
supply and demand on the Visayas grid, especially with all the new solar plants
that will start operating in Negros next year,” he said.
The new Masinloc facility will lower
costs, reduce system-wide emissions and strengthen the electric grid for the
Filipino people.
AES is a recognized world leader in the development
and operation of battery-based energy storage. Globally, AES has 86 MW of
energy storage projects in commercial operation and over 300 MW in construction
or late stage development.
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