Start of construction for mega battery storage facility in the district of Wunsiedel

06.02.2024

Source: SWW Group

Construction work has begun on one of the largest battery storage facilities in Germany in the Upper Franconian town of Arzberg in the district of Wunsiedel, a special building block in the regional Wunsiedler Weg der Energiewende. The project is being managed by MW Storage AG from Switzerland. The anchor investors are the MW Storage Fund and majority shareholder Reichmuth Infrastructure, also from Switzerland. Bayernwerk AG and ZukunftsEnergie Nordostbayern (ZENOB) GmbH are also involved as investors.

Storage facilities are something like the bottleneck of the energy transition. Only if there are enough of them can the energy supply be reliably based on renewable sources. Arzberg's mayor Stefan Göcking is therefore delighted that Arzberg will be able to make such an important contribution to a CO2-free, sustainable energy economy in the future. Nicolas Lahovnik, Mayor of the town of Wunsiedel and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ZENOB, emphasizes: "I am delighted that we at ZENOB can continue to drive forward the future of energy for the entire region with this mega battery storage facility as part of the Wunsiedler Weg der Energie."

The Chairman of the Board of Bayernwerk AG, Dr. Egon Leo Westphal, attests that the facility in Arzberg is a real beacon. "A climate-neutral Bavaria is only possible with an energy system in which intelligent energy grids efficiently combine renewable generation, regional consumption and storage. The battery storage system in Arzberg is creating a major piece of the energy future," says Egon Leo Westphal. He also points to the exemplary partnership approach. "In addition to the anchor investors, ZENOB, a regional company, and we, the largest distribution grid operator in Bavaria, are working hand in hand in a spirit of trust. Together we are shaping a sustainable energy supply." Christian Ilgner, Head of Energy at Reichmuth Infrastructure, a leading Swiss asset management company for infrastructure investments in the mid-cap segment, commented on the start of construction: "I am delighted that this is the second time we have been significantly involved in an infrastructure project for renewable energies in Franconia. The demand for battery storage power plants will increase rapidly over the next 15 to 20 years with the expansion of renewable energies. With the plant in Arzberg, we are financing another logical project in the European energy transition, which is also attractive for our investors due to its future potential."

Construction of the battery storage facility, shown here in a visualization, has begun.

Power of 100 megawatts

100 megawatts of connection capacity, 200 megawatt hours of storage capacity, a transformer station with two large transformers, 24 small transformers and 24 batteries - these are the facts in brief. The mega battery storage facility is being built in the Röthenbach district. The project, which is significant far beyond the region, is expected to go into operation at the end of April 2025.

MW Storage AG has been responsible for the overall management of the project in the district of Wunsiedel since summer 2021. The project developer has extensive expertise and experience in battery energy storage systems (BESS). The company launched its first system in Switzerland back in 2019 and now operates four in various European countries.

According to Wilfried Karl, Managing Director of MW Storage, Arzberg is an ideal location. Here, it is possible to connect directly to the 110-kilovolt high-voltage line, which minimizes energy losses - the efficiency of the storage facility will be 87 percent. The planned system can store the electricity produced by ten wind turbines, each with an output of 3.5 megawatts, for six hours. Or that of a 10-megawatt solar park for 20 hours. As an energy supplier, it will be able to supply the district of Wunsiedel with its approximately 80,000 inhabitants with electricity for around 12 hours.

Germany, like almost all other European countries, is still in the early stages of developing a storage infrastructure - unlike the UK, for example. The Federal Network Agency assumes that Germany will need at least 23.7 gigawatts of large-scale battery storage by 2045. That would be 237 facilities of the same size as the one now being built in Arzberg. "This makes it all the more important to take the first steps as quickly as possible," says Karl.

The project in Upper Franconia involves overcoming a number of technical challenges. Karl primarily mentions the integration into the Bayernwerk grid and the fulfillment of legal requirements. In Arzberg, electricity from local production will be stored, for example from the ZENOB wind farms. "It goes without saying that we will use the system to serve the grid," emphasizes ZENOB Managing Director Marco Krasser. The pioneering project will help to create a balance between electricity generation and demand at all times.

Compensating for fluctuations in the grid

Krasser explains that mega batteries are short-term storage systems. They can react very quickly to fluctuations in the grid. In plain language: if the wind suddenly picks up or clouds obscure the sun, the battery feeds in electricity with virtually no lead time. And if there is an oversupply of green electricity on a sunny day with constant wind, the battery absorbs it immediately. Thanks to battery storage, wind turbines and PV systems no longer have to be taken off the grid on certain days. In conclusion, Karl and Krasser unanimously emphasize the close cooperation. "We combine the knowledge of a specialized company with our local experience," says Krasser. And Karl adds that they are proud to be able to develop, implement and soon operate one of Germany's largest battery storage power plants in Upper Franconia.

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Christopher Fröhlich
SWW Group
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