Åland is an archipelago of 6 500 islands with 30 000 inhabitants lying at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea. The Åland FLEXe-demo project is one of the largest island trials in the world to switch to 100% renewable energy. It is supported by the Finnish government and involves a number of leading companies including Pöyry. The project comprises six clusters, of which energy storage is one. As energy storage cluster leader for the Åland FLEXe-demo project, Pöyry will manage the development of the storage system for Åland with two main aims, short-term grid stabilisation and long-term seasonal storage capacity to get the island through the winter on renewable power sources.
The challenge is to integrate the storage system into the wider design that will comprise a high content of variable renewables (wind and PV), biomass, and the envisaged transition to e-mobility of public and private transport, all connected through a smart grid. As well as technical integration, it is essential to re-design the present energy market, in order to make investments, new services and smart operation for flexibility all economically viable.
“Optimising energy storage over different timescales and especially seasonal storage to compensate summer–winter variation in Finland is extremely demanding. It is also the critical subsystem to ensure the stability, security and economic viability of the fully renewable energy system to be designed for the Åland Islands. To achieve this Pöyry complements the FLEXe-ecosystem with the latest know-how in energy storage systems,” says Tommy Jacobson, CEO of CLIC Innovation and leader of the Åland FLEXe-demo project.
