A battery storage system project from Upside Group, using SMA Solar Technology’s solution, has now started operations in the German state of Saxony.

SMA

Image: SMA supplies inverter technology to battery storage project in Germany. Photo: Courtesy of SMA Solar Technology AG.

SMA stated that the project which goes by the name Bennewitz,includes lead-carbon batteries and has a power of 16MW. The project will compensate for grid fluctuations and will help in better integration of renewable projects into the utility grid.

For the project, SMA has supplied its Sunny Central Storage battery inverters and Hybrid Controller to ensure optimized charging and discharging the batteries.

SMA Sunbelt Energy general manager Enrique Garralaga Rojas said: “The large-scale battery storage system successfully provided grid support for the first time even before the system was officially commissioned.

“In January, a major blackout almost occurred in Europe due to a significant drop in frequency to below 50 Hz; thanks to the use of battery-storage systems such as those in Bennewitz and Langenreichenbach, a failure of the electricity supply was prevented.”

“The SMA solution including Sunny Central Storage battery inverters and the SMA Hybrid Controller ensures optimal integration of the storage system into the utility grid.”

This is the second joint project for SMA Sunbelt Energy and Upside Invest. Similar to the 25MWh project in Langenreichenbach, the project has a total of 18 containers with over 10,500 battery cells and nine battery inverters were installed. The batteries come from China, have a service life of 20 years and are recyclable.

Last December, SMA Solar agreed to supply 21 of its Medium Voltage Power Stations to the 50MW KITA solar plant in Mali, West Africa. The supply order was made by Akuo Energy, a French independent power producer. The solar farm is expected to be connected to the grid this year.

The PV power plant operator has concluded a 28-year power purchase agreement to supply solar power generated by the facility to the Malian energy supplier Electricité du Mali.