First Fluence battery of 470-MW Philippine portfolio starts operation

January 27 (Renewables Now) - Battery storage specialist Fluence Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FLNC) on Thursday said the first 20-MW/20-MWh battery of a 470-MW/470-MWh portfolio in the Philippines has started commercial operation.

Fluence is deploying the portfolio for SMC Global Power Holdings Corp, the power business of Philippine conglomerate San Miguel Corp (PSE:SMC). In June, 2021, the storage company said it had completed commissioning of the first two batteries in the portfolio.

The Kabankalan system that has now entered commercial service is located Negros Occidental and is only the second grid-scale battery in the Phillipines, according to the announcement, after a 10-MW/10-MWh system at the Masinloc power plant, which was supplied by Fluence’s team in 2016.

The Kabankalan system is the first directly controlled by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines to deliver grid stability services. SMC Global Power’s portfolio deployment seeks to strengthen key areas of the Philippine grid to support greater renewables adoption. Fluence will continue deploying systems for SMC Global Power’s portfolio through July of 2022.

As outlined recently by San Miguel, SMC Global Power is due to start the operation of an initial 690 MW of battery energy storage facilities in early 2022 and expects to complete 1 GW of battery storage capacity across 31 facilities by the end of the year.