Eneco, Mitsubishi put into operation 48-MW battery in Germany

May 31 (Renewables Now) - Dutch utility Eneco and Japan's Mitsubishi Corp (TYO:8058) today cut the ribbon on their 48 MW/50 MWh battery in Germany, described as Europe's largest.

The battery, called EnspireME, is located in Jardelund, northern Germany and was built in about eight months. Initially it will be used to provide reserve capacity to European grid operators and as of this week will participate in the weekly auction of primary reserve capacity. It could replace coal and gas fired plants in this role.

In addition, with the support of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, the battery owners are exploring options to connect local wind farms to the battery.

The facility consists of about 10,000 lithium-ion batteries and was installed by NEC Energy Solutions.

The project was supported by the Norddeutsche EnergieWende (NEW 4.0) foundation, SINTEG Smart Energy Showcases and the Landesprogramm Wirtschaft.