Europe's Largest Lithium-Ion Battery System

NEC installs 48 MW energy storage system in Jardelund, Germany

In Germany, as in many other countries in Europe and the rest of the world, power grid operators need to stabilize the frequency of the grid at 50 hertz to ensure a secure supply of power. To do so, they must balance the supply and demand of electricity, as frequency can rise to above 50 hertz when electricity generation exceeds consumption, or drop below it when consumption exceeds generation. This balancing process becomes more challenging when power generation is variable, for example when producing electricity from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. Many countries around the world, particularly Germany and the members of the European Union (EU), have been stepping up their efforts to use renewable energy.

Fossil fuel generators have conventionally been used for such primary reserve or frequency response services. The battery system will be able to take over the role of primary reserve provider and, thus, forms a sustainable alternative for the backup supplied by coal and gas-fired power plants.

NEC Energy Solutions has provided Eneco and Diamond Generating Europe (DGE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation, with a GSS grid storage solution for German primary reserve operations. This includes the installation of a 48 megawatt lithium-ion battery system in Jardelund, a municipality in northern Germany where large amounts of electricity are generated by wind farms. Operational since June 2018, this system is the largest in Europe and can store enough power for about 5,300 German households for 24 hours.

The energy storage system is being used for grid stabilization services throughout the EU, which is a leader in alternative energy initiatives and has set a goal of meeting 20 percent of energy consumption within its member states through renewable energy by 2020. The system provides additional power to grids when frequency is low and takes power away by charging when frequency is high. The storage capacity from the system is being sold to the German electricity market through weekly common auctions and from there European grid operators purchase the reserve capacity they require to guarantee the 50 hertz frequency on their grids. In addition, the battery system can be used to charge from local wind farms when there is an excess, storing that power for use later, when it is needed.

"We have been very impressed with the NEC team who have worked tirelessly to get this project up and running in about 8 months to the point of operations," said Marc Wegman, director Industrial Eneco.

"As the largest battery energy storage system in Europe, this is truly a landmark project and one that our entire NEC team is extremely proud of," said Steve Fludder, Chief Executive Officer of NEC Energy Solutions.

This energy storage system is also positioned to create further value by storing wind power output from times of high wind and releasing it during times of low wind, thereby optimizing wind power output and supply. Moreover, it will benefit society by avoiding the curtailment and needless waste of valuable and clean wind energy.

NEC's construction of the largest energy storage project in Europe - Time-lapse [3:18]

Customer profile

Mitsubishi Corporation

Eneco

(OCT 31, 2018)