First German “wind+storage combination” goes into operation

The “Wind+Speicher” project in the Uckermark region of Brandenburg was awarded the contract in the first nationwide innovation tender by the Federal Network Agency in September 2020. To date, it is the first and only wind+storage project in Germany under the Renewable Energy Sources Act.

At the Schmölln II wind farm, juwi then installed two Vestas V136 wind turbines with a rated output of 3.6 MW each. The associated battery storage system with a capacity of 3 MWh was installed by Smart Power and has now been successfully commissioned. The system contributes to security of supply and grid stability, as the lithium-ion storage system allows green electricity to be fed into the grid even at times when there is little wind. Only the green electricity generated on site from the two turbines at the Schmölln II wind farm is stored and withdrawn, as stipulated in the Federal Network Agency’s Ordinance on Innovation Tenders (InnAusV).

The storage system consists of a 40-foot high cube container, an energy station with medium-voltage switchgear, a transformer and inverter and is connected to the 20 KV grid. The battery container is a climate-controlled insulated container to treat the batteries as gently as possible and thus guarantee a long service life. A total of 28 racks are installed, each with 12 battery module slots, which can generate a total output of 3.0 MW.

Thanks to its intelligent design, the system is intrinsically safe and switches off automatically in the event of a fault. The air conditioning concept provides for passive cooling of the inverter only, while the battery room is actively cooled or heated. This required spatial separation of the inverter and batteries, which, however, contributes to increased system safety.

juwi and Smart Power are currently realizing another storage project in Baden-Württemberg in connection with renewable energies: The Seckach solar park in the Neckar-Odenwald district. The 9.8 megawatt Seckach solar park with the 3.7 megawatt battery storage system (3.7 MWh) is due to be connected to the grid at the beginning of 2023. The system combination is operated by the Mannheim-based energy company MVV.