German developer ABO Wind has sold a 50MW battery project in Northern Ireland to the energy storage fund of the Swiss fund manager SUSI Partners for an undisclosed price.
ABO Wind is general contractor on the project and is overseeing the entire development and implementation of the battery storage facility located in Kells.
The company’s electrical engineers have also planned and built a substation to feed in the electricity.
ABO Wind head of hybrid energy systems and storage Julia Badeda said: “Battery storage plays a crucial role in the clean energy transition.
“This first major storage project in Northern Ireland is an important milestone.
“In addition to wind and solar energy, our interdisciplinary specialist departments cover the entire value chain of large-scale battery storage projects, from planning and engineering to construction, grid connection, and operations.”
Commissioning is scheduled for 2022 and the construction is progressing according to plan.
The battery storage manufactured by Nidec ASI will participate in the Irish capacity market.
In addition, the high-capacity battery will provide services tendered by the transmission system operators EirGrid and SONI to stabilise the Irish electricity grid and to balance the fluctuating feed-in from wind farms.
Badeda added: “The large-scale storage facility in Kells paves the way for other similar projects that we are currently developing in several countries.
“The market for energy storage is very dynamic on a global scale, and especially in markets where renewables account for more than 25 per cent of the electricity mix.”