Younicos-designed WEMAG battery park successfully “black starts” grid on
first attempt
Project partners for Europe’s first commercial battery plant to bring
innovative black start concept to market maturity/Younicos software manages
reliable re-establishment of power grid
Berlin and Schwerin, August 14, 2017: In a first-of-its-kind trial, Europe’s
first commercial battery power plant, in combination with a combined-cycle
gas turbine, has successfully restored a previously disconnected power grid
in the North German city of Schwerin.
In the experiment, the reconstruction of the disconnected power grid in the
state capital of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was successfully tested with
the aid of a battery system paired with a gas and steam turbine (CCGT)
plant.
For the test, a microgrid was first established between the CCGT, three
substations and the WEMAG battery power station, which was developed by the
Berlin-based storage pioneer Younicos. After the power island was set up,
the disconnected CCGT plant was successfully put into operation again by the
battery storage system. During the multi-hour test, local electricity
customers were not connected to this islanded power grid; their supply was
ensured via other lines.
“The WEMAG battery plant proved that it can restore the power grid after
major disruption or blackout. To date, purely conventional power plant
technology has been used for this purpose,” said WEMAG board member Caspar
Baumgart.
“This test is proof of the impressive grid-forming capabilities of battery
power plants,” Younicos CEO Stephen L. Prince added. “It shows how smoothly
our intelligent software can re-establish power in case of blackouts, as
well as securely operate grids with high shares of renewables.”
In the event of a major disturbance on the grid or a complete breakdown of
the transmission network, energy generators and grid operators must
coordinate restoration of the electricity supply in the networks they
operate. A multi-day blackout in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern would result in
substantial damage to the entire infrastructure and would compromise the
basic needs of the population.
“System and supply security is a top priority for the federal state of
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The total blackout of the electricity network
is thus very unlikely – but we want to be prepared for the worst case, which
is why we are grateful that the battery park opens a new opportunity for
restoring the power supply in the worst case. Innovative black start and
grid restoration methods significantly reduce the risk of damages caused by
blackouts. Through its black start capability, WEMAG’s battery storage makes
a significant contribution to this. Further tests with different
configurations and including renewable energies can now follow” said
Christian Pegel, Minister of Energy, Infrastructure and Digitization in
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
“Supply reconstruction” is a system service that is not only required by
network operators, but also by industrial users, in order to avoid costly
production cuts.
The project partners involved were WEMAG AG, WEMAG Netz GmbH,
Batteriespeicher Schwerin GmbH & Co. KG, Energieversorgung Schwerin GmbH &
Co. Generation KG, the Institute of Electrical Energy Technology of the
University of Rostock and Younicos.
“Our theory that it is possible to power up a gas turbine using a battery
power plant and to synchronize the resulting islanded grid has been fully
confirmed,” said Manfred Krüger, a research fellow at the University of
Rostock.
This successful trial marks the completion of Phase 1 of the so-called
“Kickstarter” project, aimed at bringing black start capability to market.
Phase 2, planned for next year, will look to re-establish power supply using
the black start capability of the battery plant in conjunction with
renewable energy systems. In addition, the autonomous supply of such a power
island will be practically tested over a longer period before being
synchronized with the transmission grid. The innovative “black start
concept” is funded with the help of the “Future-oriented Electricity
Networks” initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and
Technology.
Pictures available at
https://www.younicos.com/wemag-battery-park-successfully-black-starts-grid-first-attempt/
About Younicos
Younicos is a global leader for intelligent energy storage and grid
solutions. Clients benefit from technical expertise, commercial know-how and
in-depth experience built on 200 megawatts installed in 40 energy storage
projects worldwide. The company was founded in 2005 in Berlin, Germany, and
currently employs more than 130 storage experts there and in Austin, Texas
(USA). In July 2017, Younicos was acquired by Aggreko and is now a
wholly-owned subsidiary of the global leader in mobile power, heating and
cooling. For more information please visit http://www.younicos.com
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