Engie Deutschland has awarded a contract to Siemens to install a battery storage unit at its pumped storage hydro power station in Kraftwerksgruppe Pfreimd, Germany.
The battery storage will offer additional balancing energy for grid stabilization.
The decentral battery storage will complement the existing facilities of the pumped storage power station, which already contributes primary and secondary balancing energy as well as tertiary reserve capacity for a secure energy supply.
The lithium-ion storage with a capacity of 12.5MW is intended to be pre-qualified for providing primary balancing energy. By pooling the battery storage with its pumped storage power station, ENGIE ensures the mandatory redundancy of balancing energy capacities.
Innovative storage technology
By end of 2017, Siemens will deliver a turn-key SIESTORAGE type battery storage system. The system will provide a capacity of more than 13MWh.
Siemens Business Unit Medium Voltage and Systems CEO Stephan May said: "This battery storage system will be one of the largest systems that Siemens has supplied so fa.
"We are proud that our system will increase the flexibility of the pumped storage power plant in Pfreimd and will, thus, enable ENGIE to profit even more effectively from the primary balancing energy market."
Siemens will install the system in container units which will include the lithium-ion batteries, the inverters as well as the switch gear and the transformer for grid connection. The scope of delivery also includes the battery management system which will be directly connected to the power station control system.
Hydro power for a steady energy grid
The pumped storage and run-of-river hydro power stations operated by Engie Deutschland on the river Pfreimd were comprehensively updated in 2015, increasing their capacity by 8%.
The existing highly flexible pumped storage units, which can also be operated in a hydraulic short circuit, are predestined for pooling them with additional balancing energy capacities.
Engie Deutschland CEO Manfred Schmitz said: “Whether we will make the energy transition happen will be dominated by the question of how we will balance the volatility of renewable energy generation. Our battery storage project helps us take a major step towards our energy future."