UK Company Globeleq's 153 MW / 612 MWh Red Sands project has been awarded preferred bidder status in South Africa’s Energy Storage Capacity Independent Power Procurement Programme (ESIPPPP).

“The Red Sands project is located in the Northern Cape and will be the largest standalone battery energy storage system in Africa,” said Globeleq in a statement.

The project is estimated to cost US$300 million and will take 24 months to construct. Originally developed by African Green Ventures (AGV), it will be constructed on a five-hectare site and will connect to the grid through the Eskom Garona substation. The substation will be upgraded by the Red Sands project to ensure that full network support capabilities of the project’s batteries can be utilised.

Red Sands will be Globeleq’s first largescale Battery Energy Storage Solutions (BESS) project in South Africa where the Group also owns and operates eight renewable plants (six solar PV, two wind) with a total generating capacity of 384 MW. Globeleq also owns a combined solar and BESS plant at Cuamba in Mozambique and is developing other BESS projects across the African continent.