Battery energy storage tenders have gone from experiments to routine procurement in emerging power markets in only a few years. If you supply cells, systems, inverters, transformers or engineering services, understanding how these tenders work is now essential. This guide answers the questions we hear most.

What is a BESS tender?

A competitive process in which a utility, system operator, government agency or development programme invites bids to build — and usually operate — battery energy storage systems (BESS). The buyer specifies capacity in megawatts and megawatt-hours, location or grid node, duration, availability, and the service the batteries must provide; bidders compete on price and, increasingly, on technical scoring. The winner typically signs a long-term contract that pays for capacity, availability or energy delivered.

Who runs them and why?

State utilities and system operators procure storage to stabilise grids with rising solar and wind, to defer transmission investment, to replace expensive peaking generation and to shift solar into the evening peak. Development banks often co-design early programmes to establish bankable templates. Our energy storage coverage tracks each round.

What are the main tender types?

• Standalone storage tenders: batteries as independent grid assets, paid for capacity and availability
• Co-located or hybrid tenders: solar (or wind) plus storage, scored on delivered energy in defined hours
• Ancillary-service procurement: frequency response and reserve contracts that storage wins on speed and accuracy
• Storage-as-transmission: batteries procured by the grid operator to relieve congestion or defer lines

How are bids scored and paid?

Most tenders rank on price per megawatt of capacity per year, or on a levelised cost of delivered energy for hybrids, with minimum technical thresholds on round-trip efficiency, degradation guarantees, availability and safety certification. Payment structures range from fixed capacity payments to tolling arrangements where the buyer dispatches the battery. Currency, indexation and payment security are the make-or-break commercial terms in emerging markets — see our reporting on storage tenders.

What do suppliers need to qualify?

Track record at comparable scale, bankable warranties and degradation curves, recognised safety and grid-code certification, local service and spare-parts arrangements, and increasingly local-content or assembly. Financiers scrutinise warranty backers, so balance-sheet strength matters as much as cell chemistry.

What are the common pitfalls?

Under-specified use cases that leave batteries earning less than modelled; grid-connection delays; unclear rules on who owns degradation risk; and procurement templates copied from mature markets without local grid-code adaptation. Programmes that fix these — with clear service definitions and standard contracts — attract more bidders and lower prices.

Where BESS tenders are happening

The template has spread quickly. South Africa’s battery storage procurement programme runs alongside its renewable rounds; India’s SECI and state utilities have run standalone and solar-plus-storage tenders at gigawatt-hour scale; the Philippines has procured storage through both its green energy auctions and private developers; Chile, Egypt, Morocco, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and several Southeast Asian utilities have followed. Multilateral lenders — the World Bank’s ESMAP storage programme, the ADB and the African Development Bank — publish tender templates and finance the resulting contracts. Our news coverage of standalone tenders scaling to hundreds of megawatts tracks the rounds as they close.

The technical file: what a bankable bid contains

• System design: cell chemistry, module and rack layout, PCS and transformer sizing, auxiliary loads and round-trip efficiency at the point of connection.
• Standards and certificates: IEC 62619 and IEC 62933 for cells and systems, UL 9540A fire-propagation results, NFPA 855-aligned installation design and IEC 61850-based communications — see battery safety codes catch up.
• Performance and degradation guarantees, augmentation plans and availability commitments — see warranty and degradation terms.
• Grid-code compliance, including dynamic models and evidence of frequency and voltage support capability — see grid codes rewritten.
• Cybersecurity documentation for the EMS and remote access — see cybersecurity requirements.
• Local content and O&M: local assembly, service centres and training commitments where scored.

How revenue and risk are allocated

Most emerging-market tenders pay an availability-based capacity charge, indexed to inflation and sometimes to currency, with penalties for under-availability or under-performance; the utility dispatches the asset and keeps energy revenue. Some markets add ancillary-service payments or allow merchant participation. Curtailment, grid delays and change-in-law risk are the most negotiated clauses, and lenders scrutinise them alongside the transformer and connection schedule. Suppliers who understand this structure can help bidders shape a compliant, financeable offer — the core of what we describe in How to sell to utilities in emerging markets.

Key takeaways

• BESS tenders buy a service (capacity, availability, energy shifting), not just hardware
• Standalone, hybrid, ancillary-service and storage-as-transmission are the main types
• Price wins, but warranties, safety and local service qualify you to compete
• Payment security and grid connection decide bankability in emerging markets

Sources and further reading

• ESMAP — Energy Storage Program — World Bank storage procurement guidance
• IEA — Batteries and Secure Energy Transitions — market outlook
• IRENA — Energy storage — technology and cost briefs
• IPP Office South Africa — battery storage procurement programme
• NFPA 855 and UL 9540A — safety standards
• IEC 62933 series — electrical energy storage standards

This article was researched and written by the EnergiTech Media editorial team and last reviewed in August 2026. We update country and sector guides as tenders, plans and regulations change. Spotted something out of date? Email support@energitechmedia.com.

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