Solar PV Farms With Storage Bid

With an increasing thrust towards renewable integration across the globe, energy storage has the potential to manage demand and supply dynamics. Nowadays, power networks require additional energy storage capacity to address new flexibility needs of electric grids. This is because most renewable energy resources provide an intermittent supply, which can disrupt the daily grid operation. As a result, renewable installations when paired with energy storage are expected to continue as well into the future and represent a key component in enabling the grand transition.

The Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW) has launched an Expression of Interest (EOI) to participate in proposal submissions of photovoltaic (PV) farms with energy storage in Lebanon back April 2018. The EOI is for interested parties to develop a total of 3 Solar PV farms with Battery Energy Storage adding up to 210 MWp – 300 MWp at various locations throughout Lebanon as selected by the developers. In each project, the minimum power capacity of one given Solar PV farm is 70 MWp and the maximum power capacity is 100 MWp with Battery Energy Storage of minimum of 70 MW power with a minimum of 70 MWh of storage capacity, regardless of the Solar PV sizing.

The list of bidders who have expressed their interest was published on LCEC website and includes 75 applications with 96 total potential sites. The total proposed PV capacity is around 7,000MW and the total proposed storage capacity is around 5,600 MW/7,100 MWh-9,600 MWh.

The proposals include players from 66 countries naming UAE, Egypt, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, UK, Norway, and China with international names such as ACWA Power, Total Eren, Fluence, TESLA, First Solar, and Canadian Solar UK projects.

Currently, the LCEC supported by a consortium of technical, financial and legal consultants through the EBRD, is drafting a complete RFP package for the Solar + Storage tender. The consultant support includes the study of the optimal storage solution for Lebanon, the review, amendment and/or preparation of the RFP and all its annexes, including but not limited to technical specifications, the requirements for bidders to demonstrate their technical and financial capacity, the evaluation criteria, and the PPA and its schedules.