30 MW Storage Battery To Be Built In Germany

October 27th, 2014 by Jake Richardson

The state of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany is investing in electricity storage by developing a 30 MW lithium-ion battery there. It will be built by SK Innovation Co. Ltd., a South Korean company. Saxony-Anhalt is the site of something called the Solar Valley because of the infrastructure there that has been created over the years to support solar power. About €9 billion have been invested since 1991.

Companies such as Innotech Solar, Hanwha Q-Cells, and Enercon have a presence in Saxony-Anhalt. It is only fitting that it would be the site of a 30 MW battery storage project.

“This was just the first step. We have many renewable energy plants here and often generate more electricity than we need. So far that power has been given away, and that’s lost money,” State Premier Reiner Haseloff explained.

Batteries can store electricity generated by solar and wind power when conditions are favorable, so it can be used when they are not. Electricity storage is the second part of the renewable energy solution. By investing in new battery systems, Germany is continuing down the path it started on to shift away from nuclear power.

Coal is still very active, but eventually, as the prices of solar and wind power keep decreasing, they will become even more prevalent. Developing more robust storage capacities will likely make renewables even that much more appealing.

In 2011, it was reported that well over 60% of Saxony-Anhalt’s electricity came from renewable sources, so capturing the excess with battery storage only makes sense.

Saxony-Anhalt can’t be dismissed as an anomaly. Another German state can generate even more of its electricity from renewable sources.

As new batteries are developed and connected to the energy systems in these places, it would appear that there then will be a whole lot of renewable energy in operation. A 5 MW energy storage system recently became operational in Mecklenburg, a northern German state. Creating, launching, and operating a 30 MW storage battery would be a huge accomplishment, relative to other such storage batteries.

Related Story: Is This Company Set To Monopolize A Critical Energy Storage Sub-Sector?

Image: Husky22, Wiki Commons









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