The integration of battery energy storage systems (BESS) is the backbone that ensures the reliability of renewable energy sources, particularly in Africa.

This is according to panel discussions at the Africa Solar Industry Association’s (AFSIA) fourth Energy Storage Solutions e-conference from June 4-6. There has been a significant increase in the number of solar projects in recent years with approximately 40% of projects in South Africa in 2024 including BESS systems, said John van Zuylen, CEO of AFSIA. These projects encompass residential and commercial solar installations. “This is because of decreasing costs in storage, which have dropped significantly over the past three years,” he said.

The design and capacity of a solar system is limited where local regulations and policies don’t allow for excess energy to be sold back into the grid. “You can only cover about 20% of your total energy consumption with solar alone,” Van Zuylen said. “With energy storage, you can cover 100% of your needs.”

BESS is the only way to absorb excess energy from renewables to provide power when needed, thereby stabilising grid infrastructure, said Faris AbuYaghi, Sales Director of Envision Energy in the Middle East and Commonwealth of Independent States region.

Africa holds significant potential for BESS technology as renewable energy solutions gain traction to address energy security and grid infrastructure challenges, said AbuYaghi. “Africa is the one place on earth where battery storage has such a significant impact.”

While traditional renewable energy systems without storage can increase grid vulnerability due to lack of inertia and dependency on grid-following inverters, the adoption of battery storage and grid-forming inverters can significantly enhance grid stability and resilience, he said.

South Africa, Egypt and Morocco are leading in adopting storage technology, AbuYaghi said.

In case you missed it

Last month, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa released data on the registration of new generation facilities in South Africa in the first quarter of

the year. The regulator expressed concern about the large number of registered facilities that were not coupled with storage. Read the article here.