Stock exchange-listed system integrator Alfen has been awarded the contract to deliver a 10MW / 10MWh energy storage system, which will provide frequency regulation services and voltage control support in its home country of the Netherlands.
Customer Uniper supplies energy to customers in Belgium and the Netherlands and has ordered the system in response the growing need for grid stability. Alfen said in an emailed press release today that the project sits on Maasvlakte, a man-made island jutting into the north sea off Rotterdam and a key part of the region's shipping network. It's expected to be commissioned and in action by the third quarter of next year.
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Apparently, the harsh environmental conditions of the North Sea location present particular challenges in both installation and operation of the system, Alfen said. Partly in response to this and to limited space available, an Alfen high energy density equipment solution has been selected, housing all 10MW / 10MWh of battery storage in four shipping container-style units.
It will be combined with Uniper's hybrid power plant at Maasvlakte, where the company operates a 1GW hard coal and biomass plant opened in 2017 and a 70MW CHP generation facility opened in 2003. The project, which will connect to the local high voltage grid, is the latest in an announced and completed pipeline of mostly small to medium commercial or utility-scale energy storage system (ESS) projects around Europe for Alfen in a variety of applications, including grid buffers for electric vehicle charging and mobile storage units for grid maintenance and for outdoor events such as music festivals. The company floated an IPO on the Euronext Exchange in 2018.