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English Issue<br />
Biogas Journal<br />
| <strong>Autumn</strong>_<strong>2017</strong><br />
Large battery storage contributes<br />
to system integration<br />
Batteries are<br />
organized on shelves<br />
in the WEMAG hall in<br />
Schwerin.<br />
The need for flexibility in the electricity grid is growing. Especially with the continuing<br />
expansion of volatile electricity production from photovoltaics, the need for storage is<br />
increasing. Large battery storage can provide a technical solution, but for a long time<br />
batteries were considered as too expensive, so their operation was not cost-effective.<br />
But that’s changing now. In the past few months, a series of new projects have begun.<br />
By Thomas Gaul<br />
A<br />
lot is going on with large battery storage<br />
right now. And it’s not really even technological<br />
leaps that are resulting in this dynamic<br />
development. “Leaps are only possible<br />
right now for a price”, says Dr. Dirk-Uwe<br />
Sauer, a professor in the area of electrochemical energy<br />
conversion research and battery storage technology at<br />
RWTH Aachen University. Electromobility is currently<br />
driving battery development.<br />
Reports in the media about scrapping the combustion<br />
motor and expanding the network of electrical charging<br />
stations have caused automobile drivers and manufacturers<br />
to sit up and take notice. Not only through future<br />
mobile applications, but also through current use in the<br />
electricity grid the focus centers on battery technology.<br />
Regionally, the northern and eastern parts of Germany<br />
are developing into a powerhouse for activity around<br />
battery storage.<br />
There’s a reason for this: The area is home to many wind<br />
farms and the construction of power lines for crossregional<br />
transport hasn’t progressed very far yet. In the<br />
fall of 2016, another large battery storage unit was<br />
commissioned in the state of Brandenburg to stabilize<br />
the grid. Located near Neuhardenberg in the district of<br />
Märkisch-Oderland, the storage unit, with a total capacity<br />
of 5 megawatts (MW) and a storage capacity of<br />
5 megawatt hours (MWh) was manufactured by Upside<br />
Services GmbH.<br />
Integration in the control<br />
power supply network<br />
The battery system uses lithium-ion technology and its<br />
construction is based on containers. It was connected<br />
to a solar park right in the neighbourhood. According<br />
to the project developer, this solar park is the largest<br />
in Germany with a capacity of 145 MW. Moreover, the<br />
facility has its own network interconnection point, according<br />
to a project summary by Upside Services. Further,<br />
this interconnection point allows the large battery<br />
storage to be integrated into the control power network<br />
and to provide balance control.<br />
The project costs total 6.25 million euros, of which 2.8<br />
million euros are subsidies from the EU (80 percent)<br />
and the state of Brandenburg (20 percent). Companies<br />
and state policy emphasize the significance of the storage<br />
unit for grid stability in the region, which produces<br />
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