The economic bids for Argentina's "AlmaSADI" battery tender (700 MW awardable) will be revealed next Wednesday . The tender includes 232 competing projects representing a minimum power of 7272 MW and a maximum power of 8230.5 MW.
According to Marco Zazzini , deputy general manager at Anabática , the final price could fall below the established target. “We received bids for 8 gigawatts . Considering the rise in battery prices and some new requirements for primary frequency regulation, I believe that, given the number of bidders, we will see prices somewhat below USD 10,000/MW-month,” he stated.
It should be remembered that the maximum award price was set at USD 12,500/MW-month, so the range mentioned by Zazzini would mark competitive offers, although still compatible with the costs and risks of a large-scale storage project.
However, the deputy general manager of Anabática Renovables warned that not all players would be able to sustain any price: “These amounts are probably from the big players or the usual daredevils . Due to the high level of competition, the financial model must have been extremely tight .”
The analysis relies on a particularity of the system: AlmaSADI is not structured around energy but rather around a power and reserves service that CAMMESA contracts as an offtaker. Remuneration is primarily based on the availability of storage capacity , expressed in dollars per MW-month ; the energy supplied and primary frequency regulation operate as complementary components.
The tender specifies new BESS projects, with at least four hours of continuous power delivery, and requires that the plants also provide primary frequency regulation, with at least 30% of the power committed to that service. Therefore, the bid price depends not only on the number of competitors, but also on the cost of the complete package: batteries, conversion systems, connection works, operational control, availability guarantees, and responsiveness to CAMMESA requirements.
In that context, the strong oversupply of projects can push prices down, but the prices of the main components, the technical and financial conditions of the call for proposals put a limit on that aggressiveness.
The battery factor, the new technical requirements, and the more than 7 GW that would be left out
Unlike a purely renewable energy tender, AlmaSADI is structured around battery storage projects capable of providing power and services to the grid. This necessitates viewing the price not only as a commercial figure, but also as the result of a more complex technical and financial package.
At that point, Zazzini points out two conditions: the increase in battery prices and the new technical conditions required , including aspects related to primary frequency regulation .
Beyond the award price, another relevant unknown will be the fate of the projects that are not selected.
If the tender ultimately contracts around 700 MW , even considering the anticipated tolerance margins, more than 7 GW could be left out of this first stage. This volume is already raising a question within the sector: if Argentina has managed to generate a pipeline of this magnitude, what instruments will it use to sustain it?
One of the alternatives that appears in the debate is the Additional Reliability Reserve Service , known in the sector as SerCA , which could enable new calls for storage , thermal , hydroelectric , nuclear and hybrid facilities .
The Energy Secretariat has already requested CAMMESA to design selection mechanisms for implementing this instrument, opening the door to a second avenue for absorbing some of the interest generated around AlmaSADI . The scheme under development contemplates semi-annual rounds for storage, thermal generation, and hybrid systems, so that the remaining capacity of more than 7 GW could be absorbed gradually rather than all at once. Its implementation still depends on the Energy Secretariat's approval.
The economic opening on June 24 , then, will be more than just a price-setting event. It will also serve as a test to determine the current value of storage in Argentina , which players can sustain their offers, and what the market benchmark will be for future rounds.