Is energy storage a viable option for South Africa's power system?

In the longer term, however, at higher levels of variable generation, flexibility requirements will significantly increase demanding interventions to ensure secure and cost-efficient operation of the South African power system. Energy storage was specifically noted to be highly suitable for this purpose.

What is the energy storage capacity of ESS in South Africa?

As indicated in Figure 4-20, the existing and future pipeline of ESS in South Africa comprises of just under 18 GWh. The majority of this energy storage capacity is expected to come from the deployment of stationary energy storage under bulk generation, followed by the projects focusing on the transmission and distribution network.

Why is energy storage important in South Africa?

This enables storage to absorb excess capacity on the system when supply exceeds demand. In South Africa’s constrained power system, energy storage can provide backup capacity that can be called on to reduce the extent of loadshedding. As noted earlier, energy storage offers accurate and swift / responsive dispatchability to the system.

Is there a classification for energy storage in South Africa?

As it stands, however, there is no specific classification for energy storage and a very limited regulatory framework particular to energy storage in South Africa (Werksmans Attorneys, 2018).

Can stationary energy storage solve South Africa's power system challenges?

While the potential of stationary energy storage to address the existing power system challenges, are high in South Africa, the current uptake of the technology is limited to customer-sited, behind-the-meter applications (largely for back up services).

How can energy storage be regulated in South Africa?

Identification of priority energy storage use cases and applications for the South African context to inform development of the corresponding regulatory framework. Amendment of the grid code to be technology agnostic and review the complete set of codes for optimal integration of ESS at all levels.