Solving the challenges of the energy transition: Hybrid storage opened in central Germany

Although conventional solar systems are considered one of the most sustainable power generation technologies we know of, they also have two major disadvantages. The electricity is not necessarily generated when it is needed and electricity generation is weather-dependent and therefore not 100% predictable. In contrast, the Leipzig-based project developer Green Energy 3000 is now counteracting this with its hybrid storage facility inaugurated on July 7 in Großschirma near Freiberg, building on its cooperation with Energy2market (e2m) and EDF Trading.

The hybrid storage system is an innovative combination of a solar park and a large battery storage system. The 5.1 MW solar park is capable of generating electricity for up to 25,000 households. In good weather conditions, the German wind and solar plants together already produce more electricity than is actually needed. This is where the 1.7 MW battery storage system comes into play. It temporarily stores as much of the electricity that is not needed as possible and only releases it back to the grid as soon as demand returns. At the same time, fluctuations in electricity production due to short-term changes in weather conditions can be reduced by using the stored electricity. The hybrid storage system therefore not only produces its electricity in a particularly sustainable way, but also helps to reduce costs for the consumer.

“A new era is beginning here and now with the commercial use of battery storage in combination with electricity generation from renewable energies,” said Andreas Renker, Managing Director of Leipzig-based project developer Green Energy 3000 during the opening event. “Inexpensive electricity from solar and wind power plants can no longer only be used when it is generated. Energy from renewable energy sources can be accessed when it is needed. This will ensure a cheap and secure power supply in the long term.”

Weather-related short-term fluctuations in production from solar or wind farms are usually only balanced out after they have been fed into the grid. This is then done by other storage facilities and power plants that have to be ramped up or down. The consumer pays the costs of such balancing measures via their electricity bill. If the fluctuation is balanced out as far as possible before the electricity is fed into the grid – as in Großschirma – there are no such costs.

Green Energy 3000 is supported in its vision by the companies EDF Trading and e2m. Together, the two subsidiaries of the EDF Group are connecting the hybrid storage facility to the electricity markets. EDF Trading will purchase the plant’s electricity at a fixed price agreed for 10 years and put the financing of the innovative project on a solid footing. The Leipzig-based flexibility marketer e2m integrates the system into its virtual power plant and ensures that the electricity is marketed in line with demand by intelligently optimizing and controlling the storage system.

“A project like this only works if everyone is behind it. Our role as EDF Trading is the long-term purchase of electricity from the plant combination at a fixed price. We assume the price and volume risks that arise, for example, from fluctuating solar radiation and plant availability,” says Imke Janssen, PPA specialist at EDF Trading.

“This project is an important innovation on the German electricity market and another building block for the success of the energy transition,” says e2m Managing Director Raphael Hirtz. “I am therefore all the more pleased to welcome the plant as another part of our virtual power plant.”

Green Energy 3000 is already planning further PV parks that follow a similar model and also promote the social acceptance of battery storage.