SMC Global Power Holdings’ first 20MW battery storage begins operation in the Philippines

It forms part of a 470MW battery project.          

The first 20-megawatt (MW) of SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMCGPH) 470-MW battery-based energy storage system portfolio has started operations.

The Kabankalan system, located in Negros Occidental, is the second grid-scale battery project in the Philippines electricity network. The first was a 10MW system at the Masinloc Power Plan in Zambales.

The battery project, according to Fluence, is the first operational energy storage asset on the Visayas regional grid, which also has the largest amount of solar photovoltaic generation in the country

Moreover, it is also the first in the Philippines to be directly controlled by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, through the Automatic Generation Control.

“Each new battery asset we and SMCGPH bring online strengthens the Philippine grid, adding flexibility in the right places and with the right capabilities to support the nation’s energy transition,” Fluence President for Asia Pacific Jan Teichmann said.

SMCGPH’s battery storage portfolio remains the largest to date in Southeast Asia. The additional energy storage systems for SMCGPH’s portfolio of projects will be deployed in July 2022, with additional systems targeted for commissioning and testing within early 2022.