Germany's 69MW Solar-Storage Project Commissioned; 76.5MWh Storage Limited by Grid Connection Capacity

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 19, a hybrid solar-storage energy project near Löwenberg in Brandenburg, Germany, completed construction and obtained grid connection technical approval. It has now entered the operational phase, with a formal inauguration event planned for September 25. The project comprises 69MW of photovoltaic generation facilities and a 76.5MWh battery energy storage system. It is operated by Solarpark Löwenberger Land Betriebs GmbH & Co. KG, and took approximately 4 years from development, approval, planning, and financing through to construction.

The project's energy storage system consists of 17 battery containers, each with a capacity of 4.5MWh. Of these, 14 are located within the solar park, and the remaining 3 are installed at the Bergsdorf-West substation built as part of the project. MHB Energie served as the general contractor for the photovoltaic project, MHB Montage was responsible for installing the energy storage system, Phono Solar supplied the photovoltaic modules, Huawei supplied the inverters and battery energy storage system, and Zimmermann PV-Steel Group provided the photovoltaic mounting structures.

The project currently faces the issue of limited grid connection capacity for its energy storage. The local distribution grid operator, Eon Edis, had previously provided the project with 6.8MW of grid connection capacity, of which approximately 800kW was for the solar plant's own consumption, with the remaining capacity originally intended for the energy storage system to charge from the grid and participate in electricity market trading. The relevant connection capacity was subsequently withdrawn, leaving the 76.5MWh energy storage system at present able to store only the electricity generated by the project's own photovoltaic generation, and unable to charge from the public grid. The project operator has initiated legal proceedings to demand restoration of the previously agreed grid connection capacity.

The 69MW photovoltaic plant consists of two parts, 33.6MW and 35.4MW, of which 33.6MW has already been sold through an investment asset model, while the remaining 35.4MW is currently held by the project company, with plans to dispose of some assets later. The energy storage system is optimized for operation and market trading by Suena Energy. At present, the project has not yet signed a power purchase agreement or a flexibility purchase agreement. The dispute over energy storage grid connection capacity will directly affect the scope of the project's subsequent participation in market-based operations such as spot trading, power balancing, and energy storage arbitrage.