South Korea scaled up its storage policy with a new tender for 1180 MW of ESS systems , in the third round of its Central Contract Market, focusing on projects capable of alleviating grid constraints and providing flexibility to the system.
The Korea Energy Exchange (KPX) put 1100 MW/6.6 GWh up for tender for mainland South Korea and another 80 MW/480 MWh for Jeju , with the obligation to complete the selected projects before February 2029.
The jump compared to previous rounds is significant.
The first auction mobilized 563 MW and the second awarded 565 MW. With the 1180 MW now being offered , South Korea is taking this mechanism to a scale greater than one gigawatt for the first time.
The process is part of the 11th Basic Electricity Supply and Demand Plan, which projects a need of approximately 23 GW of long-term storage by 2038 , of which 22.5 GW would correspond to the mainland and 0.5 GW to Jeju.
That future energy volume will not be covered solely by batteries. The government is also considering other storage technologies and pumped-storage hydroelectric plants.
The third round is specifically focused on new standalone storage systems .
In the mainland territory, projects must be above 10 MW/60 MWh and below 100 MW/600 MWh , while bids will be structured in units of 1 MW/6 MWh.
KPX will seek to prioritize sites where network conditions demonstrate a specific need for storage.
The projects must be connected to system management substations or other points where it has been identified that an ESS can contribute to reducing congestion or strengthening operations.
At the same time, proposals that intend to connect to substations without sufficient available capacity or with physical limitations of bays may be excluded from the process.
The regions included are areas of Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, Gwangju, Gangwon and Gyeongbuk , among others.
Jeju opens contracts of up to 25 years
The tender also includes special treatment for Jeju, one of the systems with the highest penetration of variable renewable generation in the country.
KPX will contract 80 MW/480 MWh there, with individual projects ranging from more than 10 MW/60 MWh to up to 40 MW/240 MWh.
Developers will be able to choose between 15 or 25 year contracts.
The longer alternative will be available for systems capable of performing two complete charge and discharge cycles per day , a requirement linked to the island's high wind power participation and the need to absorb energy also during nighttime hours.
For 15-year contracts, projects must complete at least 395 annual cycles , equivalent to 5925 cycles over the period.
In the 25-year-old modality, the requirement increases to 730 cycles per year , until reaching 18,250 cycles.
In the mainland territory, ESS must guarantee at least 383 annual cycles , exceeding 5745 cycles in 15 years, maintain a minimum guarantee of 70% at the end of the period and ensure an operational efficiency greater than 65%.
The call for tenders also includes requirements related to fire safety, energy conversion systems, remote control, frequency response, automatic generation control, and grid support functions.
Another element that will gain importance will be the origin of the teams.
The contribution of the national industry and the stability of the supply chain will be part of the evaluation criteria not linked to price, so bidders must declare the country of origin of the main components and prove local capabilities for manufacturing, maintenance and provision of spare parts.
That design will once again put the major South Korean manufacturers in competition.
In the first two rounds, Samsung SDI accumulated around 56% of the awarded volume, SK On 25% and LG Energy Solution 19% , although the leadership changed between one call and the next.
The registration of bidders began on September 28 , while the published schedule includes the submission of proposals during November and the selection of winners that same month.
With this third round, South Korea moves from auctions of around 500 MW to a call for 1.18 GW , consolidating storage as an increasingly structural tool to manage congestion, integrate renewables and strengthen the flexibility of its electricity system.