SEC kicks off phase two of BESS project: The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) launched the second phase of its Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project with a 2.5 GW capacity and a SAR 6.73 bn investment ticket, CNBC reports, citing a company statement. No timeline was disclosed for the projects.

The details: SEC will tap BYD and Al Fanar Projects Company to supply and build 500MW/2GWh BESS across five locations — Riyadh, Al Qaisumah, Al Jawf, Al Dawadmi, and Rabigh. SEC and BYD signed contracts for the 12.5 GWh energy storage project in February, which included BYD’s Cell-to-System integrated tech.

The goal is to increase energy reserves in the selected areas, increase supply flexibility, lowering response time to changes in demand, all while reducing operational costs, CNBC reported, citing the statement.

Part of a bigger plan: The BESS project falls under the Ministry of Energy-monitored National Renewable Energy Program, which aims to increase the installed capacity of renewable energy in the Kingdom to 50% of the electricity mix by 2030.

REMEMBER- Ramping up investments in BESS is necessary to maintain grid stability due to the intermittency of renewable energy supply, which relies on external sources such as solar or wind. BESS capacity is expected to reach 8 GWh — four times the current capacity — by the year-end, with the Kingdom targeting 48 GWh by 2030.

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