Source: Energy & Management Powernews, February 23, 2022
In Henschleben, Thuringia, the green energy provider Naturstrom has completed its first solar park with storage.
The storage facility makes it possible to feed in solar power more in line with demand, Thomas Banning, CEO of Naturstrom AG, said of the project. "Since sun and wind are not available evenly, storage options will play a major role in the future. To this end, we are gathering initial experience in Henschleben."
The open-space PV plant in Henschleben, 24 kilometers north of Erfurt, has an output of 7.5 MW and generates around 7.4 million kWh per year - equivalent to the annual demand of more than 2,300 three-person households. A second construction phase on a similar scale is planned.
The battery on the site can store more than 1,000 kWh of green electricity. To do this, it absorbs peak yields at midday and releases them in the late evening or early morning hours. This more even feed-in throughout the day helps relieve the strain on the grid.
The plant has 17,000 photovoltaic modules that have already been producing electricity since October. With the installation of the storage unit, it is now complete. Naturstrom had been awarded the contract for the project in 2020 as part of an innovation tender by the Federal Network Agency.
The solar park is located on a former landfill site and, as Naturstrom says, is exemplary for the sensible use of pre-polluted areas through photovoltaics. In the course of the plant construction one recultivated also adjacent dumping ground surfaces. Since the surfaces belong partially to the municipality, the location municipality receives regular lease incomes.
Author: Günter Drewnitzky
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