SunAsia unit to install 198 MW of BSS capacity

By Lenie Lectura – March 4, 2018
from Business Mirror

MEGAWATT Solutions Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of SunAsia Energy Inc., is eyeing to install 198 megawatts (MW) of battery-storage system (BSS) capacity for this year.

“Our target for this year is 198 MW equivalent 742 MWh [megawatt-hour],” SunAsia President Theresa Cruz-Capellan said. She added this is roughly equivalent to five installations, “depending on the needs of our partners.”

“Next quarter, we will install about 25 MW,” Cruz-Capellan added.

The target five installations already include the recently-installed 10 MW battery for Aklan Electric Cooperative. MegaWatt was contracted by Akelco to supply and install the 10-MW battery. The partnership required the delivery of 40 MWh to Akelco with half of the capacity dedicated exclusively for Boracay.

The BSS is mainly used to store excess energy in the system and dispatch it at peak demand. It can be used both off-grid and on-grid. It can also provide grid stabilization to avoid power-quality deterioration.

Considered as the first utility-scale battery-storage project in the country, the Battery Energy Storage Project intends to address the island’s fluctuating volatile power demand.

The island of Boracay, which falls within service area of Akelco, has differentiated demand for power. Its capacity requirements are dictated by time. This means larger capacity needs to be delivered in the island when thousands of visitors arrive in Boracay during the summer or at the peak season of December. But the capacity falls dramatically, when tourists leave the island.

With battery, Akelco president Wayne Malilay said, “We are in a better position to manage our supply by storing excess power during lean months and dispatching the stored electricity for use in the Aklan mainland.”

“So, even when consumption drops significantly in Boracay during the lean months, Akelco doesn’t have to pass on to the consumers the wasted contracted energy,” Malilay added. “Excess energy can be transmitted to replace expensive peak power demand.”