Akuo bags 6-MW battery storage project in Tonga

French renewable power producer Akuo Energy said Friday it has secured a contract to build in Tonga an energy storage system with a capacity of 23.4 MWh/6 MW.

The company will be in charge of the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the Tonga 2 facility under a contract signed in November with grid operator Tonga Power Ltd. It is also involved in the implementation of the Tonga 1 energy storage project, of 5 MW/10 MW. Both are scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2020.

Tonga needs the battery storage capacity to increase the share of renewables in the archipelago’s mix and reduce diesel consumption. Renewables now account for only 10%, coming from 5.6 MW of wind and solar systems, but the aim is to bring that to 50% next year.

With Tonga 1, the country aims to improve grid stability, while Tonga 2 will be used for load shifting.

Akuo won the Tonga 2 contract in a call for tender launched by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Tonga Power. The project is part of the USD-53-million (EUR 47.8m) Tonga Renewable Energy Project, funded by the Green Climate Fund, ADB, Tonga Power and the governments of Tonga and Australia.

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