On Wednesday, the Argentine government opened the technical envelopes for the national and international energy storage tender known as Alma SADI, which was launched in March.
The initiative aims to integrate battery energy storage systems (BESS) at critical nodes in the NOA, NEA, Central, Litoral, Cuyo and Buenos Aires regions (excluding the AMBA). It is designed to strengthen the reliability of the Argentine Interconnection System (SADI) and reduce service disruptions, especially during peak periods.
A total of 235 projects were submitted by 37 companies, representing 8,335 MW of proposed capacity, which is approximately 12 times (+1,090%) than the 700 MW target initially set for the tender.
After receiving the bids, Argentina’s system operator Compañía Administradora del Mercado Mayorista Eléctrico (CAMMESA) will assess the proposals. The results are expected to be published on June 16, ahead of the opening of financial bids on June 24. The contracts are expected to be awarded in early July.
CAMMESA estimates that this first phase will require an investment of approximately $700 million to reach the 700 MW target – equivalent to approximately $1 million per MW.
The initiative builds on the Greater Buenos Aires Storage (ALMA-GBA) project, the country’s first large-scale energy storage tender, which was awarded in early September last year. In that process, the government contracted 713 MW of storage capacity at critical nodes within the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA), exceeding the original target by more than 40%, with an estimated investment of more than $540 million. Construction is currently underway.
