By ESS news
Argentina has opened financial bidding for its AlmaSADI battery energy storage auction, with offers ranging from $7,397/MW-month to below the maximum bid price of $12,500/MW-month set for the tender.
The weighted average bid for all eligible projects was $10,568.4/MW-month, approximately 15.5% below the auction ceiling.
The economic bidding phase follows the qualification of 232 proposals submitted by 37 domestic and international companies, representing a proposed capacity of 8,230 MW. The total volume exceeds the auction’s purchasing target of 700 MW by more than eleven times.
According to figures released at the bid opening, weighted average prices ranged from $9,916.7/MW-month in the Central San Luis region to $11,194.3/MW-month in the northeastern Chaco and Formosa regions, reflecting differences in competition between network nodes.
The AlmaSADI tender aims to deploy battery energy storage systems at critical network nodes in the Northwest, Northeast, Central, Coastal, Cuyo, Pampas and Buenos Aires regions, excluding the Buenos Aires metropolitan area. Argentina’s Energy Secretariat estimates that the tender could support around $700 million in investments.
The lowest submitted bid does not automatically result in an award. Market operator CAMMESA will assess offers based on bid prices, regional and node capacity limits and the allocation methodology set out in the tender rules.
The AlmaSADI auction, launched in March, seeks battery energy storage facilities that can deliver at least four consecutive hours of discharge to provide capacity and backup services in Argentina’s wholesale electricity market.
