Construction starts on Upper Franconia's next large storage facility
Terralayr builds 10 MW large-scale battery in Bavaria: New storage solution for green energy
27.11.2024
Another piece is added to the puzzle of large-scale electricity storage systems. Terralayr has now announced the grid connection of a large-scale battery in Bavaria with a capacity of 10 MW for mid-2025.
In Untersteinach, Bavaria, another option is being created for the temporary storage of green surplus electricity. The large-scale storage facility with a capacity of 10.35 MW is being built by the Swiss company Terralayr in cooperation with the battery manufacturer Sungrow, the project developer FBS-Systems and the operating partner "be.storaged".
The project in the Upper Franconian district of Kulmbach is a tenth of the record storage facility that went into operation in Bavaria at the beginning of November (we reported). The plant in Arzberg (Wunsiedel district) has an output of 100 MW and can store 200,000 kWh. The lithium iron phosphate cells in Untersteinach, around 50 kilometers away, can store around 22,000 kWh.
Large storage facilities are a means of preventing the green electricity produced in abundance during windy or sunny periods from being curtailed. At present, this green electricity is often wasted and yet still remunerated. This is why the energy transition will only work fully if storage systems can efficiently absorb the green energy and feed it back into the grid.
The Terralayr project is to be integrated into the local medium-voltage grid of Bayernwerk Netz in a grid-friendly manner. As a reserve capacity, the battery can compensate for fluctuations. This not only pleases the grid operator, but also the municipality of Untersteinach. It can expect to receive around 90 percent of the trade tax incurred.
Terralayr entered the market as a start-up in 2022, drawing on the expertise of specialists who previously worked at RWE, Next Kraftwerke and Pexapark. According to the Zug-based company, it currently operates its own battery storage system, has started building further systems and has more than 5,000 MW under development.
In a press release, Terralayr talks about making its growing network of large-scale storage facilities available to interested electricity producers and grid operators via its own trading platform. Furthermore, companies that want to bunker energy without their own storage facilities can cover their needs via the platform's virtual storage facilities. Terralayr itself will benefit from more stable and higher returns from the storage investment business model.
Author: Volker Stephan, E&M powernews
