Argentina awards 667 MW in inaugural battery storage tender

Argentina has successfully concluded its first battery energy storage tender, awarding 667 MW of capacity – around 30% more than the originally planned 500 MW – due to strong industry interest and competitive pricing.

The awarded projects are part of the Alma-GBA tender, which targets critical nodes in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA) to enhance grid reliability and efficiency.

The Ministry of Economy’s Energy Secretariat announced that 15 companies submitted 27 proposals totaling 1,347 MW. Awarded contracts were granted to the distribution companies Edenor and Edesur, with CAMMESA (Wholesale Electricity Market Administration Company) acting as the payment guarantor.

Contract prices range from $10,161 to $12,815 per MW-month, with total expected investment exceeding $540 million. CAMMESA’s specifications had set a reference price of $15,000/MW/month, but most bids came in well below that level. The government had established an award threshold at 94% of the reference price – around $14,100/MW/month – but exceptionally competitive bids led to an expansion of the award capacity.

All awarded projects are expected to become operational within 12 to 18 months.

“Alma-GBA is the first large-scale storage initiative in Argentina, based on next-generation battery energy storage systems (BESS). It will strengthen grid reliability, ensure supply during peak demand, reduce outages and marginal costs, and provide greater dispatch flexibility,” the Energy Secretariat said in a release on Monday.

In a further move, the Energy Secretariat is inviting five non-awarded but technically qualified projects, representing 222 MW, to sign contracts at a fixed price of $12,591 per MW-month – below their original bids. These projects face no network constraints and could still be added to the tender if developers accept the offer within five business days, by submitting written confirmation to CAMMESA.

The Alma-GBA procurement is part of the government’s 2024 Contingency Plan, designed to restore and modernize Argentina’s electricity infrastructure and normalize the electricity market. A key component of the plan involves returning procurement authority to local distributors to enhance service quality and reliability.