Green investor takes majority stake in operating company / battery provider Leclanché teams up with Younicos to develop further projects in the Azores / Path-breaking PPA ratified by ERSE
Berlin (Germany), Lisbon (Portugal) and Copenhagen (Denmark) March 14, 2016 – On the Azorean island of Graciosa, construction of the world’s first megawatt-scale grid-forming renewable energy system is well under way. The “island-mode” capability of the project’s intelligent battery system will enable up to 100 percent spontaneous renewable power penetration and allow the Portuguese island to replace around two-thirds of its fossil fuel generation with cheap renewable energy.
This game-changing approach has convinced Recharge A/S, a Danish financial investor focused on sustainable and green energy systems with strong impact potential, to take a 50.1 percent stake in the 24 million Euro Younicos-engineered system.
“This investment will have truly transformative impact far beyond Graciosa. Recharge is helping to create a whole new renewable energy asset class that will drive the implementation of low carbon – and low cost – technologies around the globe,” said Younicos CEO Stephen L. Prince. “Our technology allows us to use as many renewables as is economically optimal. This is not only drastically reducing CO2 emissions, but also lowering energy costs, since we are replacing expensive imported diesel fuel through locally produced renewable energy.”
Under the terms of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with local utility EDA, which was just ratified by Portuguese regulator ERSE, the resulting savings are shared between the investors and Portuguese end consumers. Younicos and battery provider Leclanché, in which Recharge is an investor, are also working on bringing similar solutions to the other Azorean islands and beyond.
Scott Macaw, co-founder and Director of Recharge commented: “The business model pioneered here makes the financing of the changeover to renewables an attractive investment that can be replicated wherever power is generated by expensive imported fuel.”
Anil Srivastava, CEO of Leclanché added: “This project marks the first time a megawatt-scale power system is being stabilized using batteries – without the need for thermal generators. We’re excited to be deploying our battery-based energy storage solutions for this pioneering project. Since 1909, Leclanché has brought a century of innovation in battery energy storage systems and today our lithium-ion technology and manufacturing plant in Germany allow us to continue to push the frontier of energy storage. We look forward with Younicos to continuing to explore the frontier of hybrid systems with renewable energy and energy storage.”
Under the leadership of construction company DST, a one-megawatt photovoltaic power plant has just been completed, as has most building work. Lithium-ion cells from Leclanché, which will power the system’s fully automated 3.2 MWh intelligent battery park, are currently being installed, as is a 4.5-megawatt wind park. Once all components are in place, the Younicos software and controls will enable the grid-forming battery power plant to balance short-term power fluctuations. This will allow the island to be powered by wind and solar energy, with the existing diesel needed only for back-up power during prolonged periods of unfavorable weather.
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 nearly 100 megawatts installed in more than 20 energy storage projects worldwide. The company was founded in 2005 in Berlin, Germany, and currently employs more than 150 storage enthusiasts there and in Austin, Texas (USA). For more information please visit http://www.younicos.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
