Nouméa (New Caledonia), August 23, 2023 - Akuo, an independent global renewable energy power producer and developer, has been chosen by the New Caledonian Government to construct and operate an electricity storage facility capable of delivering 50 MW for 3 hours every day throughout its life cycle (12 years). To do this, Akuo is planning to install over 200 MWh of storage capacity.

France’s largest battery storage facility

This plant will be the island’s first major energy storage facility, but also France’s largest in terms of capacity. The municipality of Boulouparis will host the new plant. It is a region Akuo is already familiar with, as it operates three agrivoltaic facilities there (12.7 MWp in total), including the Kwita Wije plant in Boulouparis, which is itself backed by a storage station (3 MW/3 MWh). By storing electricity during the day and reinjecting it during the evening’s period of peak demand, the storage facility will make optimum use of the electricity produced by the photovoltaic plants. At full power, it can cover a third of the record electricity consumption of the island’s households.

 

Ramping up of renewable energy in New Caledonia

Grande Terre, the principal island, is implementing a proactive policy by targeting a 75% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, according to New Caledonia’s new energy transition plan (“Schéma de Transition Energétique de la Nouvelle Calédonie”) adopted in August 2023. The plan is all the more ambitious given that it requires an accelerated decarbonization of the metallurgical sites that account for three quarters of the island’s electricity consumption, and the substitution of at least 50% of the fossil energy used in the nickel sector with renewable energy by 2035. The development of the storage capacity, by enabling as many renewable energies as possible to be integrated into the power network, is the cornerstone that will allow New Caledonia’s energy transition to be implemented. 



Akuo: an electricity storage pioneer in France and around the world

Akuo was one of the first developers to take a gamble on the ramping up of storage, being a winner of the first storage call for tenders in France, for 29 MWh on the islands of Reunion and Corsica, back in 2012. More recently, Akuo has commissioned, in island nations, the South Pacific’s largest storage facility in Tonga (16.5 MW/29.2 MWh) and the Madinina facility on the French island of Martinique (12 MW/19 MWh). 

To date, Akuo has already installed over 135 MWh of storage on 24 sites around the world. With this latest success in New Caledonia, the Akuo Group is now established as a developer of very large storage facilities. 

 

Jean Ballandras, Head of Akuo Asia Pacific, said: “It is a source of great pride for Akuo to have won this tender whose ambition and requirements we have fully taken onboard. This is a vote of confidence by the New Caledonian Government that rewards our continuous efforts over the last 13 years or so to promote – through numerous projects around the world – the appeal of storage solutions for island nations. We are in a position to tackle the challenges associated with this success: we understand just how important this battery will be in terms of ramping up the share of renewables in New Caledonia’s energy mix. More importantly, we understand that commissioning this facility will enable the plan to accelerate the production of renewable electricity sources in order to allow the mining industry’s transition to green energy. All our teams are already focused on giving their very best to successfully undertake this ambitious project, and we are ready to meet the challenges associated with it”.