RWE has begun construction of a 7.5 MW/11 MWh “ultra-fast battery storage system” at its Moerdijk power plant site in the Netherlands.
With its ability to export or absorb electricity within milliseconds, the system will help to safeguard the electricity grid, says RWE, providing the equivalent of inertia.
The Moerdijk battery storage project is part of the system integration measures for OranjeWind, the RWE/TotalEnergies Dutch offshore wind project. OranjeWind is aiming to establish new ways of integrating intermittent renewable power generation into the Dutch energy system by employing electrolysers, smart charging stations for EVs, e-boilers, and battery storage systems.
“With the Moerdijk battery storage system, we are pioneering grid-forming technologies as alternatives to traditional solutions such as power stations”, said Marinus Tabak, COO of RWE Generation and RWE Country Chair for the Netherlands.
For Moerdijk, RWE is installing lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in three shipping containers. The storage system will be connected to the high voltage grid via the existing grid connection. Highly reactive control technology and inverters with grid-forming functionality will enable the battery storage system to provide instantaneous reserve power, with grid-forming referring to the ability of battery based systems to take over important functions traditionally performed by conventional power plants to ensure a stable and reliable electricity grid.
After commissioning at the end of 2024, the plant will undergo a two-year pilot phase. During this phase, the transmission system operator TenneT will be a partner of the project to further develop its technical requirements and grid compliance procedures for the grid-forming features of the battery storage system.
The Moerdijk battery is the second battery storage facility to be built by RWE in the Netherlands: the company started construction of a 35 MW/41 MWh battery storage facility in Eemshaven at the beginning of 2024.
