Latin America on the cusp of energy storage boom

Ismario González, the Latin America managing director for Washington-based Fluence, tells BNamericas that opportunities abound for battery storage initiatives in the region. 

BNamericas: Please tell us more about the storage component that Fluence is providing for the Estrella del Mar III floating power plant in the Dominican Republic.

González: The storage system is rated 5MW/10MWh, two hours in duration, and is designed to provide primary frequency response now and other ancillary services in the future if the regulatory environment changes in the Dominican Republic to allow storage to provide additional services.

BNamericas: How does it differ from the two 10MW systems previously delivered for AES Dominicana in the country? Did the fact that this will be a floating facility present any new challenges from a storage perspective?

González: This system has longer duration than our previous deployments to enable them to provide additional services in the future.

BNamericas: The Dominican Republic seems to be a regional leader in embracing and investing in energy storage. Why is this the case?

González: Indeed, we see the Dominican Republic as the regional leader as well. Most government stakeholders there understand and support the fact that battery-based energy storage is a proven technology for providing flexibility and resilience. For investor/operators such as AES and Seaboard, they also see the financial and technical benefits the technology offers compared to more traditional assets.

BNamericas: Does Fluence have any other new projects in the region that you could tell us about?

González: Yes we do, but we are not at liberty to give details at this time.

BNamericas: Do you expect demand for energy storage in the coming years to be driven by projects that are paired with thermal plants or those linked with non-conventional renewable projects like solar and wind?

González: Currently, the easiest path to implementing storage in any system in Latin America is through its coupling with an existing thermal plant to unlock reserve capacity or provide grid services like frequency regulation, that energy storage is better suited for than thermal generation.

That said, given the multiple and simultaneous services the batteries can provide for either thermal or renewable sources, markets across Latin America are quickly realizing that longer duration systems coupled with renewable sources of energy are the prudent and sustainable path towards decarbonization and 100% utilization of inexpensive renewable energy.

BNamericas: Speaking of non-conventional renewable energy, have you received orders or interest for lithium-ion battery projects in South America?

González: We are working on closing contracts that include our SunFlex platform, ideally designed to maximize solar production and make it available in the evening or overnight through deployment of storage.

BNamericas: Last year, Fluence told BNamericas that Chile was Latin America's leader in planning for the technology, and that new battery storage regulations could be implemented there by 2020, paving the way for major investments. Is that still the case? 

González: Yes, while there have been some delays, we are very bullish on Chile.

BNamericas: How do you see the battery storage markets developing in other Latin American countries, for example in Argentina and Colombia, where significant investments in solar and wind generation are either already being executed or are at an advanced planning stage?

González: In general, Latin America is slowly catching up on its technical and commercial understanding of the values and benefits storage can bring to the table. Argentina has been reasonably successful with its RenovAr auctions, but not having storage in place limits its ability to dispatch solar power after the sun sets.

We recently saw Colombia delaying their solar auctions for various reasons, one of which is the need to think ahead and prevent situations such as  those that occurred in South Australia a few years ago. At Fluence, we believe that the conditions exist across the region to implement storage with every new solar or wind project, and even to retrofit storage at existing plants.