Powering Through the Night: More Giant Battery Storage Systems Coming to Germany
Operational Large-Scale Battery Storage Facility in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Now Active
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Get ready, Germany! Another one of the country's mammoth battery storage systems is up and running, this time in the heart of Schleswig-Holstein. This bad boy stores excess solar and wind energy during peak production times and dishes it out when demand spikes.
With a capacity of 103.5 megawatts (MW) and a storage capacity of 238 megawatt-hours (MWh), this battery storage system could power an impressive 170,000 homes for a couple of hours. The facility, built by Eco Stor and EPW GmbH, consists of a bunch of sleek containers filled with lithium-ion batteries and some more containers packed with inverters and transformers.
Tobias Goldschmidt, Schleswig-Holstein's Minister for Energy Transition, couldn't be happier about these battery storage systems. "Storage systems are the ultimate multitaskers. They smooth out the unpredictable ebb and flow of solar and wind energy, firm up our grids, lower electricity prices, and increase the share of renewable energy in our power networks," he enthused.
Georg Gallmetzer, CEO of Eco Stor, is equally excited about the potential of these systems. "We now have the technology to shift valuable solar power into the evening hours, suppress soaring power prices, and lessen our reliance on fossil fuels even further," he declared. So, expect to see more of these storage systems popping up across Germany soon.
Currently, Germany's large-scale storage systems have a total capacity of 2.7 gigawatt-hours (GWh), according to RWTH Aachen's Battery Charts. When you add in smaller commercial and residential storage systems, that number climbs to a substantial 20.3 GWh. Residential systems make up the lion's share of the total capacity, accounting for 16.7 GWh.
But that's not all, folks! Here are a few more battery storage projects in the pipeline:
- Eco Stor's Schuby Venture: Eco Stor is cookin' up an identically-sized project, located just 5 km away from Bollingstedt, and billed as the Schuby project. Like the Bollingstedt system, this one's going to boast a capacity of 103.5 MW/238 MWh[1].
- Eco Stor's "Eco Power" Series: Eco Stor's not one to rest on its laurels. They're planning even more significant projects as part of their "Eco Power" series, each with a capacity of 300 MW/600 MWh[1].
- Green Flexibility and Enertrag's Tantow Project: A joint venture between Green Flexibility and Enertrag is hatching plans for a 60 MW/130 MWh battery storage system in Tantow, Brandenburg. This project is in the final stages of planning, with commissioning slated for early 2026[5].
These upcoming projects demonstrate Germany's dedication to expanding its energy storage capabilities to accommodate a greater share of renewable energy in the country's power grid.
Sources:[1] Eco Stor GmbH & Co. KG, privater Brief.[2] Green Flexibility GmbH, privater Brief.[3] RWTH Aachen University, Battery Charts.[4] dpa, ntv.de[5] BNetzA, Enertrag AG, Green Flexibility GmbH.
- The Schuby project, another venture by Eco Stor, will soon join Germany's expanding network of battery storage systems, located just 5 km away from Bollingstedt, with a capacity of 103.5 MW/238 MWh, similar to the Bollingstedt system.
- Eco Stor is not just stopping at the Schuby project; they're planning more substantial projects as part of their "Eco Power" series, each boasting a capacity of 300 MW/600 MWh, showcasing their commitment to environmental-science and technology-driven energy solutions.
- In partnership with Enertrag, Green Flexibility is developing a significant battery storage system in Tantow, Brandenburg, with a capacity of 60 MW/130 MWh, further demonstrating the collective industry effort towards improving Germany's environmental-science and finance-driven power grid, through the use of advanced technology and vocational training in the field of energy storage.
