A Key Step Towards a Successful Energy Transition
- Proven technology for a safer, cleaner, and more affordable energy supply
- Bringing annual savings worth millions to Germany’s economy and citizens
Bollingstedt / Kirchheim near Munich, 5 June 2024. Germany’s largest battery storage facility is now online and has been officially inaugurated. Since April, a 103.5 MW / 238 MWh storage system has been operating in Bollingstedt, Schleswig-Holstein, contributing significantly to the urgently needed energy transition. The facility was developed by German-Norwegian energy storage specialist ECO STOR in cooperation with EPW GmbH, a developer of large-scale storage projects. The system is capable of supplying electricity from renewables to up to 170,000 multi-person households for two hours. Tobias Goldschmidt, Schleswig-Holstein’s Minister for Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment and Nature, gave a welcome address at the inauguration ceremony.
Strategically located on approximately 1.2 hectares near Bollingstedt in wind-rich northern Germany and in close proximity to a substation, the facility comprises 64 containers housing lithium-ion batteries and 32 containers for inverters and transformers. The storage system absorbs excess electricity from wind and solar PV generation and feeds it back into the SH-Netz grid during peak demand in the morning and evening hours. The system can theoretically supply around 170,000 multi-person households with green electricity for two hours, thus enhancing the safety, cleanliness, and affordability of the energy supply.
The system responds in real time to prices on the so-called day-ahead and intraday markets – the short-term electricity wholesale markets – as well as primary and secondary control energy markets. It charges during periods of low prices, typically when there is abundant wind or sunshine and hence an oversupply of renewable energy. Conversely, it discharges during periods of high electricity prices – typically when less renewable power is available. This increases the share of renewables in the energy mix while improving supply security. ECO STOR also uses a self-developed digital grid twin to determine when charging or discharging would be counterproductive and instead acts in a grid- and system-supportive manner in the public interest.
Battery storage facilities like the one in Bollingstedt can deliver significant welfare benefits to both the German economy and its citizens. Had the Bollingstedt facility been online during the “dark lull” in the early evening of 12 December 2024, it could have reduced the then exceptionally high electricity price on the German market by €36/MWh. After subtracting the cost of charging during the preceding night-time hours, approximately €1 million in electricity costs could have been saved in that single hour. The EEG levy account also stands to benefit: A storage system of this size can ease the account’s burden by around €4 million annually.
“With storage systems like the one in Bollingstedt, we can drive the energy transition forward at full speed,” said Energy Transition Minister Tobias Goldschmidt. “Storage is truly multifunctional: it balances natural fluctuations in solar and wind power, stabilises the grid, lowers electricity prices, and increases the amount of green power in our networks. All of this not only contributes to climate protection – which is more urgent than ever in light of the spring drought – but also boosts Germany’s appeal as a business location and increases revenues for municipalities through trade tax income. Everyone benefits.”
“Electricity grids can transport energy across distances, but not through time,” explained ECO STOR Managing Director Georg Gallmetzer. “This is where solutions like the one in Bollingstedt come in – storing renewable electricity and releasing it during periods of darkness or calm weather, exactly when it is both physically and economically viable. This enables us to further reduce the need for fossil power plants without compromising supply security.”
The project partners ECO STOR and EPW expressed their gratitude to the local municipality, the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, and the involved citizens and landowners for their support and constructive cooperation. Meanwhile, the next battery storage project of similar size is already underway: “With another 100 MW-class battery storage facility currently under construction in the neighbouring municipality of Schuby, we are sending a clear signal to industry and policymakers,” added Georg Gallmetzer. “We’re proving that the energy transition can be achieved through private investment and without government subsidies.”
About ECO STOR
The ECO STOR GmbH team develops, builds, and operates battery storage systems throughout Germany – consistently setting new benchmarks for performance and capacity. The German-Norwegian company provides a crucial building block for a successful energy transition: With ECO STOR, it no longer matters when renewable electricity is generated. Thanks to battery storage, green energy becomes more affordable and predictable. ECO STOR is the only company in Germany to cover the entire value chain – from planning and construction to operation. The company is backed by a strong international energy transition consortium, including the global renewable energy developer X-ELIO, the investment company Nature Infrastructure Capital (NIC), and Norwegian energy company Å Energi. More information: www.eco-stor.de
About X-ELIO:
X-ELIO, a Brookfield-owned company, specialized in the development of renewable energy projects with a global presence in Spain, Italy, Germany, the United States, Japan, Australia, Latin America and the Middle East. With 20 years of experience and more than 3 GW built, this world-leading company is strongly committed to sustainability, the reduction of greenhouse gasses, and the fight against climate change.
For more information, please visit our website at www.X-ELIO.com, our LinkedIn profile at https://www.linkedin.com/company/x-elio, or our Twitter profile at https://twitter.com/X_Elio.
