German company opens Europe’s largest green energy storage facility

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In Germany, the energy company Wemag AG has opened Europe’s first large energy storage facility in which surplus green energy from wind turbines and solar panels can be temporarily stored. The capacity is 5MWh.

The energy is stored in 25,600 lithium manganese oxide batteries. The batteries are supplied by Samsung SDI. The manufacturer would guarantee the operation of the batteries for at least twenty years. The Younicos company connected the batteries via five transformers to a 110kV intermediate station and ultimately the 380kV high-voltage grid. The construction of the plant in the town of Schwerin, about 100 km east of Hamburg, cost 6 million euros, with 1.3 million euros coming from government subsidies. The storage capacity of 5MWh would be good to serve approximately 2500 households.

With the installation for temporary energy storage, the energy company wants to store electricity surpluses that can arise when generating green energy via solar energy or with wind turbines in order to absorb peaks and troughs. For example, the stored electricity can be returned to the grid when demand increases, when it is dark or when there is little or no wind. Wemag claims that its installation will lead to a more stable electricity grid, where the coupled batteries with a total storage capacity of 5MWh have the same ‘control potential’ as a conventional 50MW turbine, where the batteries are charged at a grid frequency above 50Hz and power back within seconds can supply if the mains frequency falls below 50Hz.

With its ‘energy turn’, Germany is rapidly greening its energy supply, partly because the country has decided to close its nuclear power plants. More than 12 billion in subsidies are paid out every year. By 2035, the country must obtain 60 percent of its energy from renewable sources. Currently, that share is about 25 percent. However, keeping the electricity grid stable is a challenge. By temporarily storing green energy, the Germans hope to be able to overcome some of these problems. Researchers are also looking at the possibility of temporarily ‘storing’ electricity in the batteries of electric cars that are connected to the mains.

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