Renewable energy developer Alight is adding a 2MW/2MWh battery system to a 12MW solar park in Sweden, creating the largest solar-plus-storage project in the country.
The solar park in in Linköping, southern Sweden, has been operational since 2020 and the battery system, pictured above, will be commissioned in December this year.
The storage system is being deployed by Soltech Energy, the same firm deploying an identically-sized unit at a truck EV charging station announced in February, covered by Energy-Storage.news at the time.
A press release aid the battery system will contribute to balancing Sweden’s electricity grid through frequency regulation, ancillary services and the optimisation of solar energy production by providing energy when the solar energy system is not producing, for example at night, or during outages or power failures.
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“We are very proud to establish the largest solar-plus-storage plant in Sweden to show how subsidy-free solar and storage is unlocking major opportunities. By adding storage solutions to our solar parks, we revolutionise the way we produce renewable electricity, making it a force of predictability and grid stability. As solar-plus-storage increasingly becomes a standard, everybody wins”, says Harald Överholm, CEO of Alight.
The announcement’s wording leaves open the slight possibility that the battery system may not charge directly from the adjacent solar park. Most co-located projects in the UK and Europe merely share grid connection and infrastructure.
Utility Tekniska verken operates the local grid and is also part owner of both the solar park and the battery, as well as full owner of the land on which they both sit.
The utility-scale energy storage market in Sweden has picked up pace in recent months. In August, energy storage system (ESS) firm Alfen announced it would deliver the country’s biggest battery system to-date at 10MW/11.9MWh. Just a month later, developer Ingrid Capacity announced one that was nearly seven times larger at 70MW.
The country’s large pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) capacity has historically providing its balancing needs but with the onset of more renewable energy resources, those needs have begun to outstrip PHES capacity.
