Three Innovative Energy Storage Projects Announced in 1Q 2017

The energy storage industry is heating up in 2017 because of several new projects. Guidehouse Insights’ Energy Storage Tracker 1Q17 report provides a comprehensive list of global energy storage projects and identifies new and emerging market leaders in the industry. This blog discusses some of the most notable new projects that show how these systems don’t necessarily provide just one type of service. Energy storage systems can come in several different flavors and provide multiple benefits.  

ENGIE Deutschland Kraftwerksgruppe Pfreimd Storage Plant

ENGIE Deutschland currently owns and operates a pumped hydro station in Kraftwerksgruppe Pfreimd, Germany, but the company sought to profit more effectively from the load leveling and peak shifting market. To do so, ENGIE awarded a contract to Siemens AG to install its SEISTORAGE Li-ion battery technology, power electronics, and battery management system. Rated at 12.5 MW and over 13 MWh, the battery system works in conjunction with existing pumped hydro resources and will enable the plant to provide all levels of reserve capacity—from short duration frequency regulation services to long duration bulk storage. ENGIE believes that this hybrid energy storage system illuminates the vision of its future energy storage business predicated on how to balance the volatility of renewable energy generation while providing multiple grid services. This project is set to come online in late 2017.

Vattenfall Wind Farm Battery Energy Storage System Installation

State-owned Swedish utility Vattenfall plans to install up to 1,000 Li-ion batteries to address the intermittency issues of several of its wind farms. The batteries, supplied by automaker BMW Group, are the same as the batteries used in the BMW i3 electric car, effectively providing an additional revenue stream for BMW’s existing business. Vattenfall plans to build the first a battery energy storage system (rated at 3.2 MW) at its Princess Alexia wind farm near Amsterdam. A larger 22 MW installation will be constructed at the company’s Pyn y Cymoedd wind farm in South Wales on a later date. This project is a part of National Grid’s Enhanced Frequency Response (EFR) tender issued in 2016. 

E.ON Texas Waves Wind Farm Installation

Multinational energy company E.ON looks to become one of the premier industrial energy storage businesses in the world. E.ON recently announced it will colocate short duration energy storage systems at its Pyron and Inadale wind farms in the western part of Texas. Dubbed Texas Waves, the project will collectively utilize 18.8 MW of Li-ion battery technology from Samsung SDI. The system will provide multiple ancillary services to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas market, namely wind ramping and smoothing, load leveling, and Volt/VAR support. Energy storage software provider Greensmith will provide the battery management system to each of the installations to help ensure the stacked revenue streams of the system.

The Improving Landscape of Energy Storage

Storage is shifting to become an essential component of new energy systems to ensure projects can reach maximum profitability. To match this growing popularity, companies like Tesla and Alevo are expanding internal resources to ensure they have the best and brightest minds to capitalize on new technology and opportunity in the market. Overall, the global energy storage industry is poised to continue growing quickly over the next several years. Energy storage industry stakeholders should explore new and seemingly unconventional methods to become involved in new projects. Doing so could help develop untapped markets, create new technology, and spur innovation in the industry for years to come.