German municipal utility Westfalen Weser is trying to develop a 120 MW/280 MWh battery storage facility on the website of a former nuclear energy plant within the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Whereas bulletins of battery power storage initiatives developed at former coal vegetation aren’t unparalleled, growing large batteries at former nuclear energy plant websites has been unusual. However, with its final nuclear reactors shut down in April 2023, Germany is now taking the lead on this new kind of growth.
Municipal power provider Westfalen Weser has introduced plans to develop a 120 MW/280 MWh battery power storage system at a former nuclear energy plant website in Würgassen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Because the utility stated this week, the city of Beverungen has handed over the land to Westfalen Weser.
The 1,912 MW Würgassen nuclear energy plant was operated by PreussenElektra, each previous to and through decommissioning. Industrial operations started in 1975. The plant was shut down in 1994, after which all gas components had been eliminated.
Identical to decommissioned coal energy vegetation, retired nuclear reactors are engaging areas for the event of grid-scale battery power storage techniques. They provide the chance to reuse current infrastructure and grid interconnection rights.
Westfalen Weser has confirmed this, saying that the retired Würgassen plant is especially appropriate for a battery storage facility as a result of it has the wanted infrastructure in place, together with a transformer station and corresponding strains. The ability is scheduled for completion within the second half of 2026, with investments totaling round €92 million ($99.6 million).
“We’re investing in power storage to make sure a safe and environment friendly energy provide because the technology of renewable energies continues to extend,” stated Jürgen Noch, the municipal utility’s managing director.
Westfalen Weser sees different potential functions for power storage sooner or later. These embrace the direct connection of native renewable power mills akin to wind energy and PV techniques, in addition to the on-site consumption of saved power. For instance, bigger customers might be provided with CO2-neutral power from a regionally unbiased grid, or inexperienced hydrogen might be produced, the utility stated.
Due to this fact, Westfalen Weser expects battery power storage capability within the Ostwestfalen-Lippe area to extend greater than 12-fold to round 1 GWh, because the nation continues to develop its battery fleet.
Current evaluation from the Fraunhofer Institute for Photo voltaic Power exhibits that the put in base of battery storage almost doubled final yr, up from 4.4 GW/6.5 GWh of cumulative installs by the tip of 2022 to 7.6 GW/11.2 GWh by the tip of 2023. The institute stated that storage necessities in Germany will rise to greater than 130 GWh by 2030.
One other large-scale battery can also be deliberate on a former nuclear energy plant website within the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. PreussenElektra and its mother or father firm, E.ON, wish to finally develop an 800 MW/1,600 MWh storage facility, which might make it Europe’s largest battery power storage facility.
PreussenElektra is at the moment nonetheless ready to safe a allow to decommission and dismantle the Brokdorf nuclear plant. It utilized for it in 2017. The ability plant stopped working on Dec. 31, 2021.
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