On Wednesday, the Argentine government opened the technical envelopes for the national and international energy storage tender, known as Alma SADI, which was launched in March.

The initiative aims to integrate battery energy storage systems (BESS) at critical nodes across the NOA, NEA, Central, Litoral, Cuyo and Buenos Aires regions (excluding the AMBA). It is designed to strengthen the reliability of the Argentine Interconnection System (SADI) and reduce service disruptions, particularly during peak demand periods.

A total of 235 projects were submitted by 37 companies, representing 8,335 MW of proposed capacity, which is around 12 times (+1,090%) the 700 MW target initially set for the tender.

Following the receipt of bids, Argentina’s system operator Compañía Administradora del Mercado Mayorista Eléctrico (CAMMESA) will evaluate the proposals. Results are scheduled to be published on June 16, ahead of the opening of financial bids on June 24. Contract awards are expected in early July.

CAMMESA estimates that this first phase will require an investment of approximately $700 million to achieve the 700 MW target—equivalent to around $1 million per MW.

The initiative builds on the Greater Buenos Aires Storage (ALMA-GBA) project, the country’s first large-scale energy storage procurement, which was awarded in early September last year. In that process, the government contracted 713 MW of storage capacity at critical nodes within the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA), exceeding the initial target by more than 40%, with an estimated investment of over $540 million. Construction is currently underway.