Germany: Launch of battery project

The civil works lay the foundation for Statkraft’s foray into new decentralized storage technologies. Three battery containers of 1 megawatt (MW) installed capacity are being mounted on site. The aim of the pilot project is to deliver control reserve power to the German transmission grid.

The battery containers are set up in the coming months and will be tested and put into operation by the end of the year. Pre-qualification by transmission system operators (TSO) to provide balancing power is expected to be completed at the same time.

Distributed storage for renewable energy

Decentralization of power production by storing electricity from renewable energy sources is growing. Lithium-ion batteries have advantages that have made this technology first choice for decentralized storage systems.

From 2013 to 2014 the cost of lithium-ion battery commercial/utility packages dropped by 50%, and according to Deutsche Bank, a 20-30% yearly cost reduction is likely for the near future. With the prices of batteries or battery systems in decline, new business opportunities arise in the market for primary control power.