Alterric and Voltfang Connect Storage System to Wind Farm in Berne
The co-location project combines wind energy and storage technology to reduce curtailment and improve the integration of renewable energy into the power system.
August 18, 2026
Source: E & M powernews
Alterric and Voltfang are constructing a battery storage facility in Berne with a capacity of 3.8 MW and 10 MWh. Commissioning is scheduled for January 2027.
At the Berne wind farm in the Wesermarsch district of Lower Saxony, the partners plan to build a battery storage facility with a capacity of 3.8 MW and 10 MWh. According to the companies, the facility is scheduled to go online in January 2027. The storage facility will be connected to the wind farm’s existing grid interconnection point and is intended to utilize its available connection capacity.
The concept is designed as a co-location. Accordingly, the battery storage facility will not have its own separate grid connection but will share the grid connection point with the wind farm. According to the project partners, this approach is intended to avoid the construction of an additional grid connection. Voltfang and Alterric point to the long wait times for new grid connections for large-scale storage systems.
The storage facility is intended to draw electricity exclusively from the connected wind turbines and not to draw any electricity from the public grid. When feed-in is high, wind power will be temporarily stored and released at a later time. Alterric expects this to result in lower curtailment losses and additional marketing opportunities. The companies did not provide details on how much wind power could be stored annually or prevented from being curtailed. The nominal storage duration is approximately 2.6 hours if the specified capacity of 10 MWh can be fully utilized at the rated power of 3.8 MW.
According to its own statements, Alterric is providing the site and the existing grid connection for the project and is handling coordination with the grid operator and the marketing provider. Voltfang is serving as the general contractor for the battery storage system. According to the press release, the scope of work includes system design, engineering of the medium-voltage switchgear, a measurement and protection concept, system certification, construction, and software integration into the wind farm control system.
A key factor for compliance with energy regulations is that, according to the project partners, the storage system will remain exclusively dedicated to wind energy generation. The companies therefore anticipate a streamlined approval process and expect the temporarily stored electricity to remain eligible for EEG subsidies.
The Market Master Data Register lists the existing Berne Wind Farm in the municipality of Berne as having five Enercon E-82 E2 wind turbines. Each turbine has a capacity of 2.3 MW; together, they account for a registered total of 11.5 MW. The turbines began operating between March and April 2015. Four turbines have a hub height of 108 meters, and one has a hub height of 98 meters; the rotor diameter for each is 82 meters. IFE Windpark Berne GmbH & Co. Betriebs-KG, a subsidiary of Alterric, is registered as the operator of the wind farm.
Author: Fritz Wilhelm
