Large renewable power battery to start operating in Brandenburg

A large electric battery unit in the German town of Schwarze Pumpe, in the state of Brandenburg, will soon help stabilise the grid as renewable energy sources make up a larger portion of power supply, Ralf Nestler writes in Der Tagesspiegel Online. “BigBattery Lausitz” will have a capacity of 53 megawatt-hours. Run by lignite mine and power station operator LEAG, it is due to go into operation this month and run for at least ten years before reducing capacity to around 80 percent, according to the report. The cost is estimated at 25 million euros, with the state of Brandenburg providing four million euros in financing.

More than 3,800 wind turbines — collectively capable of producing 7,000 megawatts — are connected to the grid in Brandenburg, the report says. Given that wind turbines, like solar power, vary in productivity depending on the conditions, battery storage systems can be used to absorb excess energy or feed electricity into the grid as needed. LEAG operates lignite power plants in Brandenburg and Saxony and is searching for new opportunities in Germany's energy transition. The country aims to shut down its last coal plants no later than 2038, while renewables are to make up 65 percent of power demand by 2030.