Three months after start of construction, the topping-out ceremony for the 10 MW battery storage facility in Bordesholm was celebrated on September 12th. The excellent collaboration between RES (Renewable Energy Systems Ltd) and the utility VBB has made a significant contribution to the smooth construction progress in reaching thisimportant project milestone. The modern and highly efficient battery storage system will provide grid stabilisation and back-up power – fed from 100% renewable energy to the community when there is grid disruption or upstream grid failure.
During the traditional topping-out ceremony Frank Günther, Managing Director of VBB said, “My thanks to all those who have worked on this construction. We are considerably closer to our vision of an independent and regenerative future of electricity supply in Germany – andultimately worldwide. We have the local energy production and distribution in our hands. With this battery project, we will give an insight into the future of a digital and innovative energy world, which ensures an efficient and stable power supply with renewable energy alone.”
Energy storage systems are the key technology of the future
Thanks to innovative and intelligent controls developed in-house at RES, battery storage is much more efficient than traditional system services using conventional coal or nuclear energy. The battery can respond within milliseconds to ensure the balance between production and consumption. “For the widespread use of renewable energy, the energy market and energy-intensive companies need a reliable technology that guarantees the security of supply and providesflexibility at the same time. Therefore, energy storage units will play a major role in our electricity network”, emphasises Matthias Leuthold, Head of Energy Storage for RES in Germany. “This project particularly distinguishes the testing of the black start capability and the possibility of operating as a local island grid”, adds Leuthold.
The emergence of the battery storage in Bordesholm
So far, the foundations, the solid construction, the carpentry and roof of the 450 m² building have been erected. The electrical installation for the lithium-ion storage facility, with a capacity of 15 megawatt hours, will now follow. For this purpose, a total of more than one kilometre of 20kV medium-voltage cable, as well as over three kilometres of 1kV cable will be laid. Another highlight of the construction phase is the installation of the 180 battery racks with a weight of 750 kg each – this is the heart of the entire battery storage system and the commissioning is planned for the beginning of next year.
Globally RES has completed more than 270 MW of energy storage projects in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. The VBB storage project is the first multi-megawatt storage project in Germany. With its technical competence and many years of experience as a project developer and EPC service provider, RES has proven experience with the project tender. After completion of the Bordesholm battery storage facility, research institutions and universities will be able to use the data from the project to research the findings from this pilot project that can be transferred to other networks.
