A developer of a mixed-use industrial park in Togo, West Africa initiated a tender for a large-scale solar plus energy storage project, and the park has issued a letter of intent (EOI). Pan-African infrastructure developer Arise Integrated IndustrialPlatforms (Arise IIP) is working with the government of the Togolese Republic on the Adétikopé Industrial Platform (PIA), a 400-hectare special economic zone near the country’s capital, Lomé. The area will house an industrial and logistics center, providing access to West Africa through the coast.

Arise IIP issued a notice on July 8 inviting EOI to add a 200MW battery energy storage system (BESS) and related 161KVA substation infrastructure for grid connection for a DC photovoltaic power station with a capacity of 390MWp. According to the notice, these projects "mainly provide PIA with long-term reliable and sustainable power."

Participants have two options, either bidding for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts and five-year operations and maintenance (O&M), or signing a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Arise IIP in the form of a joint venture. Applicants need to have at least one similar project experience, and have the financial ability to start the work immediately after receiving the contract, and have sufficient materials, technical resources and personnel suitable for project work.

The bidding documents will be provided between July 20 and 30, 2021, after which there will be 12 weeks to submit bids. This project is the largest of its kind announced on the African continent so far. Previously, it was a number of small solar plus energy storage projects, including grid-connected and micro-grid projects. The most recent project locations are mainly located in Madagascar, Somaliland and Mozambique. . South Africa has also made history by bidding for energy storage projects exceeding 1GWh to make renewable energy projects dispatchable as the country seeks to quickly purchase energy capacity to make up for supply shortages.