Matías Araya , Application Engineer at Sungrow , warned exclusively during the Future Energy Summit (FES) Guatemala that the results of PEG-5 force the country to anticipate the future stability requirements of its electrical system.
The expert maintained that energy storage associated with solar power generation has already reached the necessary maturity to compete in long-term tenders. Its widespread adoption, however, will require new regulations, transmission infrastructure, and technical capabilities to support grid operation .
“There are many important and interesting things about the results of the tender, especially to understand this concept of storage together with solar as if it were a standard solution or already adopted and fully mature in the market,” Araya stated during the meeting.
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The warning came after the PEG-5 tender awarded 1,258 MW through 57 projects , with approximately 73% renewable energy participation and a strong predominance of hybrid photovoltaic initiatives with batteries. The process achieved an average single-unit price of $101/MWh , below current contract values.
The executive's conclusions gained greater significance in light of the announcements made at FES Guatemala. Authorities announced a new PEG-6 tender to contract approximately 300 MW of firm power , after the previous call for bids failed to meet the total demand.
They also anticipated another bidding process to expand transmission capacity following the PET-3 results. PET-4 will be a priority to incorporate the awarded generation capacity , reduce potential operational constraints, and support the growth of both consumption and installed capacity.
The expansion of supply must proceed in coordination with the strengthening of the electrical infrastructure. The introduction of hybrid projects requires facilities capable of managing more variable flows, transporting the new production, and responding quickly to contingencies.
DC Coupling and a new logic for solar projects
For Sungrow, the initial configuration of the Guatemalan market favors the development of DC Coupling solutions, where the photovoltaic plant and batteries share part of the direct current infrastructure.
Araya explained that the introduction of solar energy was conditioned by the characteristics of the terrain, the structure of the developments and the alternatives offered by the suppliers that began operating in the country.
“Let’s take a case study that is very close to the reality of Guatemala, in which solar solutions came first and, due to the terrain conditions of the projects and how the suppliers entered the country, centralized solutions predominated,” he said.
Building on this existing infrastructure, energy storage allows for managing energy delivery, providing power at specific times, and adding tools to support the system. The specialist indicated that this scenario facilitates the incorporation of DC-coupled configurations.
“Now that there is a desire to start providing alternatives or tools to stabilize the system, solutions such as DC coupling are being adopted more readily,” Araya explained.
The alternative also offers economic advantages. By sharing equipment and infrastructure with the photovoltaic plant, DC coupling can reduce the number of components, optimize the initial investment, and improve generation efficiency , especially in hybrid installations designed from the ground up.
“We are starting to see these types of alternatives that are more convenient in terms of the CAPEX of the projects,” the executive stated.
PEG-5 also confirmed a change in investment criteria. The market began to consider, along with generation costs, the firmness, predictability of delivery, and adaptability of each technology.
This shift helps explain why wind power lost competitiveness to solar projects with storage , despite maintaining one of the lowest levelized generation costs internationally.
The tender design prioritized the delivery of firm energy during specific time slots. Under this scheme, photovoltaic installations with batteries offered a more predictable response and made storage a more decisive attribute than the production price alone.
Economic competitiveness must be accompanied by long-term technical capabilities. Araya maintained that the selected solutions will have to meet future regulatory requirements and adapt to the evolution of the system.
“They are capable of delivering all the technical requirements that the regulations will demand and will also be prepared for what will happen with this penetration of renewable energies into the grid,” the Application Engineer highlighted.
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From storing energy to providing services to the grid
Guatemala is positioning itself as one of the most dynamic markets in Central America for the development of BESS systems . While other countries in the region still rely on specific frameworks or ancillary service markets, PEG-5 demonstrated that batteries can compete within long-term tenders.
Their function can be expanded. Along with shifting energy between schedules and providing firm power, these systems are capable of participating in frequency regulation, voltage control, and synthetic inertia , provided that regulations recognize and compensate for these capabilities.
Araya anticipated a phased evolution. First, the rules will need to be updated and new commercial mechanisms enabled. Then, the increased presence of inverter-based generation will raise the demand for services designed to maintain operational balance and security.
“The first thing, as Adolfo mentioned, is that there will always be a transition in which regulations will change, new markets will open, and complementary services will appear in which storage can participate,” he said.
In this process, the systems must respond to imbalances between supply and demand, maintain electrical variables within the required ranges, and reproduce, through power electronics, part of the reaction historically provided by rotating machines.
“That’s when the technical capabilities that the systems need to have to regulate frequency, regulate voltage, and provide synthetic inertia to the grid begin to appear,” the executive explained.
These functions will become more important as the energy mix incorporates more variable resources. Planning will need to consider not only how many MW of renewables can be installed, but also how the system will react to fluctuations, outages, or sudden generation losses.
Araya warned that stability issues become critical in systems with high renewable energy participation. In this context, batteries can maintain electrical stability during disturbances, facilitate recovery, and contribute to grid integration.
“We want networks that can withstand power fluctuations, that can —let's assume we already have a completely renewable energy matrix— form a network, that are resilient to a blackout and have the ability to perform a blackout start-up,” the specialist emphasized.
Black boot allows parts of the system to be restored without relying on an external power source. This feature becomes valuable during widespread outages and reflects the evolution of batteries from commercial assets to strategic resilience resources .
Transmission as a condition for sustaining growth
The expansion of solar power generation has already increased pressure on transmission infrastructure in various Central American markets. Guatemala must prevent renewable energy expansion from leading to congestion, spillovers, or limitations in connecting new projects.
In this regard, PEG-6 and PET-4 will address complementary needs . The former will seek to incorporate firm power, while the latter will create the conditions to transport the awarded generation and reduce bottlenecks.
During FES Guatemala, the president of the National Electric Energy Commission, Claudia Marcela Peláez , stated that the challenge is no longer solely focused on adding renewable capacity. Safe operation will also require new transmission infrastructure and firm generation capacity.
For his part, the then Minister of Energy and Mines, Víctor Hugo Ventura , confirmed that the Government would move forward with another call for bids after PEG-5 and announced the intention to resume the expansion of the network incorporating the lessons learned from the previous process.
The then Deputy Minister of Energy, Juan Fernando Castro , also left as main definitions the continuity of the electricity expansion agenda, the promotion of new renewable and storage investments, and the need to accelerate the works to accompany the growth of demand.
These signs show that the development of BESS requires comprehensive planning . Batteries can provide flexibility and support, but their deployment depends on clear rules, sufficient grid capacity, and coordinated expansion between generation and transmission.
Araya believes that Guatemala can draw on the experience accumulated by other Latin American markets, where regulation and network services are at a more advanced stage.
“Let’s offer solutions that have the flexibility or adaptability to technical requirements that already appear in other markets in the region, and that we always have the opportunity to see in countries where the regulations are already more developed,” said the Sungrow representative.
Anticipating these requirements would avoid costly modifications and ensure that the awarded assets can participate in new services when the corresponding mechanisms are enabled.
The executive added that regional precedents offer an opportunity to make medium- and long-term decisions before regulatory changes become urgent. This way, developments can be prepared for the services and markets that will open up in Guatemala.