Fluence and Siemens are involved in a pilot project to deliver the first energy storage system connected to the transmission system in the Baltics.
The pilot with Litgrid, Lithuania’s transmission system operator (TSO), will deploy a 1MW battery at a location near Vilnius designed to serve as a “proof-of-concept” for much larger planned projects in Lithuania.
Energy storage deployments will help the country “pursue a synchronous interconnection with the Continental Europe electric grid and a transition to clean energy”.
Increasing amounts of renewable energy require additional power flow capacity on key transmission lines at certain points on the grid.
With “virtual transmission lines”, energy storage is placed along a transmission line and operated to inject or absorb real and reactive power, mimicking transmission line flows.
Storage deployed this way can also provide numerous other critical network services, including grid-forming capabilities, virtual inertia for local grid stability, black start capability, power oscillation damping and voltage control mode.
These capabilities are an important step toward the next level of grid protection and resiliency, enabling the use of energy storage systems to mitigate different types of potential events affecting grid reliability and stability, said Fluence.
Fluence CEO Manuel Perez Dubuc said: “VTL is one of the most exciting applications for battery energy storage. We’re proud to work with a forward-thinking TSO like Litgrid and our partner Siemens to demonstrate the benefits of storage as a transmission asset.”
He added: “With more than 13 years of experience developing grid-scale energy storage technology, opening markets and pioneering new applications, Fluence has the technology and expertise to help Litgrid deliver safe, reliable, resilient energy storage systems that support Lithuania’s energy transition.”
Lithuania has plans to pursue energy independence as it integrates synchronously with the Continental European Synchronous Area in 2025 and to increase its use of renewable electricity from 20% to 45% in 2030, rising to nearly 100% by 2050.
Securing the stable operations of Lithuania’s power system during this energy transition requires further innovation and development demonstration, which is why Litgrid is proactively testing energy storage to stabilise the grid and ensure resiliency, Fluence said.
The pilot project with Fluence is Lithuania’s first grid-scale battery-based energy storage system and will be among the first VTL projects in Europe to be tested.
Besides traditional frequency control reserves services from battery storage, Litgrid is also testing non-frequency functionalities such as those listed above, with the goal of demonstrating to market participants how simple battery energy storage implementation is and the conditions needed to unlock battery storage’s full potential to deliver ancillary services.