BS Hanyang announced on the 24th that it has been selected as the preferred bidder for the installation and operation of 96-megawatt (MW) battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Gwangyang and Goheung, under the 1st Central Competitive Bidding for Energy Storage Systems (ESS) in 2025.
The ESS central competitive bidding system is a newly introduced system to address the instability of the power grid caused by the expansion of carbon-free energy sources such as renewable energy. The Korea Power Exchange selects operators through bidding and guarantees stable revenue for 15 years. Nationwide bidding officially started this year.
The volume for this first competitive bidding reached a record high of 540 MW for a single domestic project, and BS Hanyang has secured a significant part of it, amounting to 192 MW, leading the ESS market. BS Hanyang participated in the bidding by forming a consortium with Southern Power.
BS Hanyang plans to construct and operate 96 MW-class BESS at a site of 17,991 square meters in Goheung-gun and another at a site of 13,708 square meters in Gwangyang's Hwanggeumsan Industrial Complex, with construction starting in early 2026 and aiming for completion by the end of the year.
In this bidding, BS Hanyang received high marks for its expertise and know-how in constructing and operating the solar power plant Solar City, which has the largest single solar power generation capacity in Korea at 98 MW and a 306 MWh ESS. Additionally, its collaboration with Korea Southern Power (KOSPO), which is currently advancing a project following the successful bidding for the first ESS central agreement market in Jeju, was also effective in securing competitive advantage for the bidding.
BS Hanyang aims to diversify its business by entering the BESS market based on its experience and knowledge gained from successfully advancing renewable energy projects such as the Solar City solar power plant and the floating solar power plants at Haechangman and Goheungman.
BESS is a facility that enhances the stability of the power grid by storing electricity generated in excess of demand and supplying it during high-demand periods. The installation of large-scale BESS is expected to significantly contribute to the stable operation of the power grid in Goheung and Gwangyang by reducing the overload rate of the power grid and decreasing constraint operations caused by overload.
After this bidding, BS Hanyang plans to continuously enhance its capabilities in carrying out BESS projects and collaborate with BS Industry and Jeonnam Province to accelerate the development of the Renewable Energy 100 (RE100) industrial complex and artificial intelligence (AI) data center in 'Solar City,' which is being developed into an energy new town with a population of 100,000.
The strategy is to enhance the capabilities for establishing and operating BESS facilities, which are essential infrastructure for data centers requiring large-scale power and RE100 industrial complexes based on renewable energy, to establish a stable power supply system in Solar City in the future.