A project combining gas turbines and battery energy storage system (BESS) technology in the Czech Republic has been put into commercial operation, the largest in the country.
Decci Group, an independent power producer (IPP), announced the completion of the hybrid ‘Energy Nest’ project earlier this month (10 July). It was developed via its subsidiary E.nest Energy.
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The project in Vraňany, Mělník, combines 30MW of BESS with another 22.4MW of gas generators to provide grid balancing services to the transmission system. Construction started in April last year and a May 2024 operation date was targeted.
Darina Merdassi, Decci’s director said the project would be able to provide the same balancing services as a 300MW lignite power plant, and that projects like it were key to moving away from coal, which still provides 60% of power in the Czech Republic (sometimes referred to as ‘Czechia’).
Specifically, Energy Nest will provide automatic frequency regulation backup (FCR), automatic activation power balance regulation backup (aFRR+) and manual activation power balance regulation backup (mFRR+), the announcement said. It will initially only bid in up to 30MW of its capacity, but this may increase to the full 52.4MW in future.
Merdassi added that the system could easily be expanded in future and that green hydrogen production is also being considered.
Technology company Siemens built the project while the main technology suppliers were turbine manufacturer Centrax and inverter company SMA. Local consulting firms Euroenergy, Nano Energies and OSC were also involved in the project while the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics developed a customised control system.
Decci received a 750 CZK million (US$32 million) loan in November last year from Czech banks České spořitelny and Komerční Banka for the project.
It comes seven years after Energy-Storage.news reported on the first grid-scale lithium-ion BESS in the Czech Republic, deployed by system integrator Alfen.
See images and renders of Decci Group’s project below.
Images: Decci Group.
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