Battery storage power station

Construction

Structurally battery storage power plants with uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) are comparable, although the designs are larger. The batteries are housed for security in their own warehouses or in containers. As with a UPS, the problem is that electrochemical energy storage principle to store or emit energy only in the form of direct current DC, while electric power networks are usually operated with Alternating current AC voltage. For this reason, additional inverters are needed which operate at battery storage power plants due to the higher performance and connection with high voltage. It is this power electronics with GTO thyristors for use, as are common even in the high-voltage direct current transmission (HVDC). Accumulators different systems are used depending on the plant. Was it since the first battery-storage power plants in the 1980s, mainly lead-acid batteries, found in the next few decades increasingly nickel-cadmium batteries and battery types such as the sodium-sulfur battery application. Due to falling prices in the 2010s are also lithium-ion batteries, such as when the battery Park Schwerin, battery storage Dresden or the storage of BYD in Hong Kong for use.

Operating Characteristics

The advantage of battery storage power plants are for energy systems extremely short control times and start times in the range of 20 ms at full load, since no mechanically available masses to be moved. In order for these power plants can not only to cover peak power in the range of minutes used, but also to dampen short-term oscillations in the range of seconds, when operated at capacity limits electric power networks. These instabilities manifest themselves in voltage fluctuations with periods of up to several 10 seconds and can soar in worst cases to high amplitudes, which can lead to regional blackouts. The counteracting sufficiently strongly dimensioned battery storage power plants. Therefore, applications are found primarily in those regions where electrical power systems are operated at full capacity and are at risk in the grid stability. Further applications are isolated networks, which can not replace electric power at short notice with neighboring networks.

The downside were in the past, which are designed as a wearing part lead-acid batteries and the associated costs, which these systems often could be uneconomical. Overstress how deep discharge and comparatively very high charge and discharge currents (currents over 700 A are common), defects such as overheating occur on the accumulators, the charge / discharge cycles are limited up to 1000 cycles in this scope on some 100th Due to mechanical damage to the housings acid may further leak. When the electric charge formed depending on the battery type with air explosive gases such as hydrogen-oxygen, which must be continuously suctioned from the halls. Lithium-ion batteries with a suitable control electronics have these problems no longer, in particular they generally have a high cycle stability. The prices of lithium-ion batteries are falling sharply, so that these systems can be operated more economically today. Since 2015, there are mainly lithium-ion batteries, some redox flow batteries and rarely lead-acid batteries. There are numerous suppliers of large battery storage.

Installation examples

Below are some of the largest battery storage power plants are exemplified.

Chino Battery Storage Project

The operated from 1988 to 1997 by the Southern California Edison in the Californian city Chino battery storage power station served primarily for grid stabilization and could be used by frequent power outages in the region as a static var compensator and black start of non-black bootable power plants. The plant had a peak power of 14 MW, which was, however, far too little for effective stabilization in the net of Southern California Edison, and a storage capacity of 40 MWh. The system consisted of 8,256 lead-acid batteries in eight strands, which were divided into two halls.

Golden Valley Electric – Fairbanks

One of the largest and located with Stand 2010 operating system is operated by the Golden Valley Electric in Fairbanks. The power grid in Alaska is operated due to the large distances as stand-alone grid with no direct connection to neighboring North American interconnections within the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. The battery storage power plant with a maximum capacity of 27 MW is used to stabilize the grid, covering high peak and reactive power compensation. The plant was put into operation in 2003 and consists of 13,760 nickel-cadmium batteries in four strands. The NiCd cells are manufactured by Saft Groupe S.A., the inverters by ABB Group.

BYD in Hongkong

The Chinese company BYD operates a battery banks with 40 MWh capacity and 20 MW maximum power in Hong Kong. The large storage is used to cushion load peaks in energy demand. Likewise, the storage can contribute to the frequency stabilization in the net. The battery is made up of a total of almost 60,000 individual lithium iron phosphate cells, each with 230 amp hour capacity. The project was started in October 2013, and went in June 2014 to the grid. The actual installation of the storage lasted three months. The use of price differences between loading and unloading by day and night electricity, an avoided grid expansion for peak loads and revenue for grid services such as Frequency stabilization enable economic operation without subsidies. Currently 3 locations for a 1,000 MW peak power to 200 MWh capacity storage power plant to be examined.

Battery storage power station Schwerin

In Schwerin, Germany the electricity supplier WEMAG operates a lithium-ion battery storage to compensate for short-term power fluctuations. Supplier of battery storage power station is the Berlin company Younicos. The South Korean company Samsung SDI supplied the lithium-ion cells. The memory has a capacity of 5 MWh and an output of 5 MW was in September 2014 in operation. The lithium-ion battery storage consists of 25,600 lithium manganese cells and is about five medium-voltage transformers with both the regional distribution connected as well with the nearby 380 kV high-voltage grid.

Photovoltaic and hybrid power plant

The existing photovoltaic power plant Old Daber near Wittstock in Brandenburg, Germany receives a battery storage of 2 MWh. The special feature is that this is a turnkey solution that is supplied and installed in containers and is without elaborate production work on site for immediate use. There are used lead-acid batteries.

Hybrid Battery power plant Braderup

In Braderup (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany), the energy storage Nord GmbH & Co. KG operates, since July 2014 the largest hybrid batteries in Europe. This is from a lithium-ion battery storage (2 MW power 2 MWh storage) and a vanadium flow battery storage (330 kW power, 1 MWh storage capacity) up. The lithium-ion modules used here are from Sony that flow battery comes from the company Vanadis Power GmbH.

The storage system is connected to the local community windfarm (18 MW installed capacity). Depending on wind strength and charging status of each battery distributed developed by Robert Bosch GmbH control the generated by the wind turbines, energy on the right battery. Bosch distinguished remain responsible for project implementation and system integration. Over a ten-kilometer long underground cable, the hybrid battery is connected to the power grid, at a current network congestion, the battery absorbs the energy of the wind farm and at a convenient time later fed back into the grid. By this method, a shutdown of wind turbines can be avoided in network congestion, so that the energy of the wind does not remain unused.

Battery storage Dresden

Stadtwerke Dresden, Germany (Drewag) have taken a battery storage with a peak power of 2 MW in operation on March 17, 2015. The costs amounted to 2.7 million euros. There were used lithium polymer batteries. The batteries included controller system have been divided into two 13 m long container and can store a total of 2.7 MWh. In particular, the peak power of an in-close photovoltaic system can be compensated for that.

Battery storage Feldheim

In Feldheim in Brandenburg, Germany battery storage with capacity of 10 MW and a storage capacity of 6.5 MWh was put into operation in September, 2015. The project cost 12.8 million euros. The storage provides control energy for the power grid ready to order fluctuations caused by wind and solar power plants to offset, can what is not yet done with fossil fuel plants. The store is operated by the company Energiequelle.

Battery storage of Steag

The Company Steag plans in the years 2016 and 2017 six battery storage power plants with a capacity of 15 MW to build to be 2016 and 2017 put into operation. They are to be Situated in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany at the power plant sites Herne, Lünen and Duisburg-Walsum and in Bexbach, Fenne and Weiher in the Saarland.

Grand Ridge Power plant in Illinois and Beech Ridge, West Virginia, USA

The largest grid storage batteries in the United States include the 31.5 MW battery at Grand Ridge Power plant in Illinois and the 31.5 MW battery at Beech Ridge, West Virginia. Both using lithium ion batteries.

400 MWh Southern California Edison project

Under construction in 2015 is the 400 MWh (100 MW for 4 hours) Southern California Edison project. Developed by AES Energy it is a lithium-ion battery system. Southern California Edison found the prices for battery storage comparable with other electricity generators.

52 MWh project on Kauai, Hawaii

Under construction (2015) is a 52 MWh project on Kauai, Hawaii to entirely time shift a 13 MW solar farm's output to the evening. The aim is to reduce dependence on fossil fuels on the island.

250 MWh Indonesia

At present (2/2016) is under construction a 250 MWh battery storage in Indonesia. There are about 500 villages in Indonesia which should be supplied, so far they depend on the power supply of petroleum. In past the prices fluctuated greatly and there was often power outages. Now the power will be generated through wind and solar power.

Battery Storage Notrees, Texas, 36 MW

One battery is in Notrees, Texas (36 MW for 40 minutes using lead-acid batteries).

Battery storage with 13 MWh in Germany with worn batteries

A 13 MWh battery made of worn batteries from electric cars is being constructed in Germany, with an expected second life of 10 years, after which they will be recycled.

53 MWh in Ontario

In Ontario, Canada, a battery storage with 53 MWh capacity and 13 MW of power is established by the end of 2016. The Swiss battery manufacturer Leclanché supplies the batteries now. Deltro Energy Inc. will plan and build the plant. The order was placed by the network operator IESO. The energy storage are used to provide fast grid services, mainly for voltage and reactive power control. In Ontario and the surrounding area there are many wind and solar power plants, whereby the power supply varies widely.

Storage in southern England with special control

In southern England was installed for demonstration purposes a battery storage with capacity of 0.6 MWh and 0.3 MW power, made up of 1400 lithium cells installed in a container. The special feature is the control of the storage. Follows usually a battery storage exactly a revenue model such as on the provision of control energy (usually control energy market is very small), follows this storage three revenue models. The storage has been installed next to a solar system. So the solar system can be designed larger in the first revenue model, as the grid power actually permits. The storage accepts a peak clipping of the solar system, thus avoiding the cost of a further grid expansion. In the second revenue model provides the storage in the distribution grid active and reactive power ready and also saves energy optionally one to stabilize the voltage. The third revenue model of the storage is then fed in, if the price for electricity is greatest. The store received an award for top innovation.

South Korea

Since January 2016 in South Korea three battery storage power plants in operation: a 24 MW system with 9 MWh and a system 16 MW with 6 MWh. These two batteries based on lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide and supplement a few months older system with 16MW and 5MWh whose batteries are based on lithium titanate oxide. Together the systems have a capacity of 56 MW and serve the South Korean utility company Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) for frequency regulation. The storage comes from the company Kokam. After completion in 2017, the system should have an power of 500 MW. The three already installed storage reduce annual fuel costs by an estimated 13 million US dollars, according to greenhouse gas emissions. Thus the saved fuel costs will exceed the cost of battery storage significantly.

Storage for Aboriginal community in Australia

An existing system in an Aboriginal community in Australia from photovoltaic system and diesel generator will be extended by a lithium-ion battery to a hybrid system. The battery has a capacity of about 2 MWh and a power of 0.8 MW. The batteries store the excess solar power and take over the previously network-forming functions such as network management and network stabilization of diesel generators. Thus, the diesel generators can be switched off during the day, which leads to cost reduction. Moreover, the share of renewable energy rises in the hybrid system significantly. The system is part of a plan to transform the energy systems of indigenous communities in Australia.

Storage for Azores island of Graciosa

On the Azores island of Graciosa a 3.2 MWh storage was installed. Along with a 1 MW photovoltaic plant and a 4.5 MW wind farm, the island is almost completely independent of the previous generation with diesel generators. The old power plant only serves as a backup system in the event that a long time enough power from solar and wind power plant could not be created because of bad weather. The sharp decline of expensive diesel imports electricity is cheaper. The so generated profit will each divided in half between the investor of the new plant and the end users. More Azores islands to follow.

80 MWh of storage in California

Tesla installed a grid storage facility for the Southern California Edison with a capacity of 80 MWh at a power of 20 MW between September 2016 and December 2016. This means that the storage unit (1/2017) is currently one of the largest accumulator batteries on the market. Tesla installed 400 Powerpack-2 modules at the Mira Loma transformer station in California. The memory serves to store energy at a low network load and then to feed this energy back into the grid at peak load. Prior to this, gas-fired power stations were used.

300 MWh storage in Japan

Mitsubishi installed a storage facility in Buzen, Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan with 300 MWh capacity and 50 MW power. The storage is used to stabilize the network to compensate for fluctuations caused by renewable energies. The accumulator is in the power range of pumped storage power plants. The batteries are installed in 252 containers. The plant occupies an area of 14,000 square meters.

Market development

In the US, the market for storage power plants in 2015 has increased by 243 percent compared to, 2014. In 2016, the UK grid operator National Grid posted independent from technology 200 MW of control power to increase system stability. In this case, only battery storage power plants won the auction.