Enel Green Power, the subsidiary of Italian energy company Enel, has began construction of 20MW Cremzow storage plant, in Germany.
Image: Artist’s rendering of the energy storage unit. Photo: Courtesy of Enel Green Power S.p.A.
As per Enel Green Power, this project will help in stabilizing the German grid and will facilitate the transition to renewable energy sources.
This additional power will join the 2MW / 3.2MWh energy storage plant which is active since April and will bring the plant to its final operational size to 22MW /34.8MWh.
The Cremzow plant is located in the Land of Brandenburg. The plant was a result of an agreement between Enel Green Power Germany, the German wind operator ENERTRAG AG and Leclanché, a Swiss company for energy storage solutions.
The agreement was signed in February for a total value of €17m. The storage plant’s construction is expected to be completed by the end of December this year.
Leclanché has been selected as the contractor in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC). It will also deal with the integration between batteries and conversion systems and with the energy management software.
Once completed, the storage plant will offer frequency regulation services with 11 operationally independent units of 2MW to the German Primary Control Reserve (PCR) market to rapidly stabilize the grid. It is planned to be integrated with ENERTRAG’s wind farms in the later stages.
This energy storage plant will provide grid stability with primary frequency regulation services in real time. When the frequency of the grid decreases due to higher energy demand, the battery will begin its work and will quickly provide the stored energy.
Enel Green Power CEO Antonio Cammisecra said: “Energy storage is playing an increasingly important role to ensure grid stability and paves the way for a widespread diffusion of renewables around the world, facilitating their integration into electrical grids.”
The storage plant will be owned by special purpose vehicle (SPV) in which EGP Germany owns 90% stake and the remaining 10% is owned by ENERTRAG.