The 10 MW AES Netherlands Advancion Energy Storage Array was officially unveiled in Vlissingen, The Netherlands yesterday.
The battery system, touted as the largest in its class operating globally, adds the equivalent of 20 MW of flexible resource to the grid.
An alternative to a peaking power plant, the array incorporates more than 45,000 lithium ion batteries, supplied by Samsung SDI. The batteries are based on the same technology found in tablets, laptop and cell phones.
The array will enable larger amounts of renewable energy to be integrated with the grid, enhance grid reliability and slash emissions and costs by providing fast response balancing services to the mains grid says AES. The company states Advancion provides twice the flexible range per installed megawatt, and with a 50x better response rate.
TenneT B.V., the national electricity transmission system operator of The Netherlands, welcomed the installation.
“This AES investment fits perfectly into TenneT’s vision that grid stability should be less dependent on large conventional power plants in the future. If wind and solar energy continue to increase, batteries will be an excellent alternative to take over this role of power plants,” said Gineke Van Dijk, Senior Manager of Customers and Markets at TenneT.
Another similar sized AES project recently completed is the Kilroot Advancion Energy Storage Array, located in Kilroot Power Station in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland. Consisting of 53,000 batteries, the system provides 10 megawatts of interconnected energy storage.
Late last year, AES and LG Chem inked a supply agreement for one gigawatt-hour of LG-Chem lithium-ion battery capacity for use in AES Advancion units.
AES says it has the world’s largest advanced energy storage fleet, consisting of 116 MW capacity. The company states it has a further 268MW of interconnected energy storage at various stages of construction.
Advancion’s scalable design offers standard configurations from sub-100 kW to over 1,000 MW, and from 15-minutes of duration to over four hours; without the need for any reengineering.
“Advancion is infinitely scalable, geographically dispersable and a smart, modern and low-cost solution to today’s grid challenges,” said Steve Corwell, AES Europe Vice President.
