Central Puerto advances $190M battery storage projects

Central Puerto is accelerating the construction of its first battery energy storage systems (BESS) under the AlmaGBA program, aiming to start commercial operations by mid-December before Christmas. The company is developing 205 MW of capacity across two sites in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA): the 150 MW Nuevo Puerto project, which requires a $150 million investment, and the 55 MW Central Costanera facility, with an estimated investment of about $40 million.

Together, the systems offer 1,025 MWh of capacity, providing approximately five hours of storage. While the AlmaGBA tender required a four-hour minimum, Central Puerto expanded duration to capture additional margins. Leonardo Katz, Strategic Planning Director at Central Puerto, explained during a press tour that civil works are largely complete, with Nuevo Puerto at 70% overall progress and Costanera exceeding 54%. The company's balance sheet reported that 81% of CAPEX had already been executed, representing roughly $106 million.

Equipped with CATL battery technology and Edesur as off-taker under a 15-year power purchase agreement, the installation includes 1,080 Huawei inverters, 23 transformation centers elevating voltage to 33 kV, more than 120 kilometers of wiring, and a substation with two 33/132 kV 105 MVA transformers. CAMMESA will supply the electricity required to charge the batteries at night at no additional cost or price arbitrage.

Gabriel Ures, Commercial Director at Central Puerto, stated that Argentina faces no structural deficit in generation supply, noting that network strain in AMBA, which accounts for nearly 50% of national power consumption, stems from distribution bottlenecks during extreme summer heatwaves. The AlmaGBA initiative awarded 667 MW across seven companies to help stabilize the regional grid.