Sungrow VPP project to support ailing South African power grid
Image courtesy Sungrow
Solar solutions provider Sungrow has signed a supply agreement with French renewable energy group EDF Renewables to provide liquid-cooled energy storage systems and MV transformers for the Umoyilanga project in South Africa which, once connected to the grid, will help alleviate impacts of the country’s power crisis.
Touted as South Africa’s first wind-solar-storage integrated virtual power plant (VPP), EDF Renewables and private investment company Perpetua Holdings (Pty) Ltd won the Umoyilanga project bid in the South African Government’s Risk Mitigation IPP Procurement Programme in March 2021.
The Umoyilanga project consists of two separate plants. One is a solar-plus-storage plant located in Avondale in the Western Cape province, and another is a wind-plus-storage plant located in Dassieridge in the Eastern Cape 900 kilometres away.
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The project will use 264MWh PowerTitan liquid-cooled energy storage systems, enhancing grid stability.
Also, the virtual power plant technology will be configured to achieve long-distance cross-regional energy coordinated dispatch, improve regional power supply stability, and meet the power grid’s needs.
After the Umoyilanga project is connected to the grid, it will generate approximately 400 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity every year, which can meet the annual electricity consumption of 120,000 households.
“After the completion of this South Africa project, it will surely become a regional demonstration project, leading the development of the industry,” said Phyllis Yang, Head of Sungrow Southern Africa.
“This project is EDF Renewables’ first integrated wind, solar, and storage project to be launched in Africa, which is a milestone for us. We are very pleased to cooperate with Sungrow again to bring industry-leading innovative liquid-cooled storage to this groundbreaking virtual power plant project,” said Tristan de Drouas, CEO of EDF Renewables in South Africa.
Originally published on Power Engineering International.
