RWE has started building an ultra-fast battery storage system with an installed capacity of 7.5 MW and a storage capacity of 11 MWh on the site of its power plant in Moerdijk, the Netherlands, as part of the OranjeWind offshore wind project that involves system integration solutions.
Owned by RWE and TotalEnergies, the 760 MW OranjeWind will establish new ways to integrate renewable energy generation into the Dutch energy system through electrolysers, smart charging stations for electric vehicles, e-boilers, and battery storage systems.
This aligns with the tender requirements for the Hollandse Kust West (HKW) VII site, where the wind farm will be built, which RWE secured in the tender held in 2022, with TotalEnergies joining the project in July 2024.
Last year, RWE initiated the construction of a utility-scale battery storage system at its biomass plant in Eemshaven, also in connection with the OranjeWind project. That storage will have an installed power capacity of 35 MW and a storage capacity of 41 MWh, and will consist of a total of 110 lithium-ion battery racks that will be virtually coupled with RWE’s power plants in the Netherlands.
For the battery storage system at the site of its Moerdijk power plant, 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 and will be able to provide balancing energy instantaneously.
The system is set for commissioning at the end of 2024 and will then undergo a two-year pilot phase.
The transmission system operator TenneT will be a partner of the project during the pilot phase to further develop its technical requirements and grid compliance procedures for the grid-forming features of the battery storage system.
Last year, RWE and TenneT signed offshore grid connection agreements for OranjeWind that cover the realisation of the grid connection and the transmission of the electricity produced by the offshore wind farm on TenneT’s platform.
The OranjeWind offshore wind farm, to be built 53 kilometres off the Dutch coast, is expected to start producing renewable electricity in 2027.