RWE has initiated the construction of its inaugural battery storage project in the Netherlands, boasting an installed power capacity of 35 megawatts (MW) and a storage capacity of 41 megawatt-hours (MWh).
Set to be situated within RWE’s Eemshaven power plant, the project will encompass 110 lithium-ion battery racks across an area spanning approximately 3,000 square meters. The storage system aims to provide control energy and facilitate operations in wholesale markets by 2025.
The project represents a significant stride towards establishing a portfolio of innovative flexible assets designed to seamlessly integrate the variable power generation profile of the “OranjeWind” offshore wind farm, presently under development, into the Dutch energy landscape.
RWE, having secured the offshore project off the Dutch coast in 2022, envisioned an integration strategy amalgamating the wind farm with green hydrogen generation and other solutions, including battery storage.
Roger Miesen, CEO of RWE Generation and Country Chair for the Netherlands, expressed pride in the project’s commencement, stating, “RWE’s battery storage project in the Netherlands is a big step towards a reliable electricity supply in an increasingly green national energy system.”
The battery storage facility is engineered to sustain its installed capacity of 35 MW for over an hour, theoretically equivalent to charging around 800 electric vehicles. Moreover, the system’s design facilitates virtual coupling across various RWE power plants in the Netherlands, enabling optimized management of balancing energy allocation, either individually or collectively.
RWE’s initiative underscores its commitment as a driving force in the energy transition. The company is actively engaged in the development, construction, and operation of battery storage systems across Europe, Australia, and the US.
Presently, RWE operates battery storage systems with a cumulative capacity of around 500 MW, with over 1 GW of battery storage projects currently underway worldwide. As part of its expansion plans, RWE aims to elevate its battery storage business to 6 GW globally by 2030.
The company’s recent milestones include the commissioning of a megabattery in Lingen and Werne, Germany, at the outset of 2023, boasting a capacity of 117 MW. Additionally, a 220 MW project is currently underway across two locations in North Rhine-Westphalia. In 2023, RWE acquired UK solar and battery developer JBM Solar, augmenting its portfolio with an advanced battery project pipeline totaling 2.3 gigawatts.
Moreover, RWE is spearheading the development of innovative combined solar and storage plants within its German opencast mining sites. Overseas, the company secured a bid for a long-duration battery storage system (50 MW/400 MWh) in Australia and successfully connected its maiden utility-scale battery storage system to the California electric grid in 2023. The Fifth Standard facility, boasting a capacity of 137 MW, stands as RWE’s largest storage facility to date, collocated with a 150-MW solar PV array in Fresno County, California.