RWE has chosen SMA Solar Technology to provide the system technology used for integrating and optimally controlling the charging and discharging of lithium-ion battery racks at two energy storage facilities in Germany totalling 117MW.
The developer will construct one 72MW facility in Werne and another 45MW facility in Lingen, which will feature a total of 47 Sunny Central Storage UP 3450 battery inverters and 420 lithium-ion battery racks between them.
The storage projects will provide a range of important system services needed for maintaining grid stability to support fluctuations in the availability of renewable energy, RWE said.
The SMA Sunny Central Storage UP has an output of up to 3960 kVA and system voltages of up to 1500 V DC, which allows for more efficient and flexible system design in storage power plants.
The system is scheduled to start operations at the end of 2022.
RWE said that once they are completed, the projects will be virtually coupled with its run-of-river power plants along the river Mosel through a coupling process that is set to raise the total capacity of the batteries by 15%.
The company will then be able to make additional power available by raising or decreasing the flow-through at these power stations as well as balancing energy.
RWE Battery Solutions chief executive Andrea Hu-Bianco said: “Our project is setting new standards and demonstrating how we can deliver even greater flexibility to the market thanks to the intelligent connection of battery power with run-of-river power plants.
“With SMA, we enjoy the support of a highly experienced manufacturer with whom we have been collaborating for many years.
“Combining this with our market expertise, system knowledge, technical competence and experience in plant operation, we will construct and reliably operate one of Germany’s largest and most innovative battery storage systems.”
SMA head of project sales Sebastian Seidl said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to contribute our technology and expertise to this groundbreaking project.
“Our customers always benefit from our decades of experience and outstanding system know-how, even when we are faced with entirely new requirements and challenges.”