Sri Lanka CEB tenders 200MW battery energy systems

Colombo, Oct. 6 (Daily Mirror) - Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) had called for tenders from potential bidders for 200MW/200MWh battery energy systems (BESS), it was reported yesterday. This is for the upgrading of its grid to accommodate more intermittent renewables.

The BESS is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) credit.

The ADB had previously given $150 million credit to enhance the national grid and to to accommodate more renewable power.

The battery systems will be set up at the Kolonnawa grid substation. The CEB floated two tenders of 100MW/100MW each for the purpose

Since renewable power – other than large hydros – are intermittent, large investments have to be made in the grid, outside of visible costs of solar or wind plants to stop cascading failures in the grid from voltage changes.

Battery systems can respond very fast to changes in demand or supply.

The CEB is also planning a pump storage plant, which has a long-life running decades at a time like large hydros which can store power across time by pumping water up in two dams in a cascade.