Fluence Energy GmbH, a subsidiary of battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator Fluence, will provide its BESS solutions for Germany’s largest solar-plus-storage project.
The 16MW/58MWh BESS will be delivered to European power generator Statkraft for Project Zerbst. The BESS will be co-located with a 47MW solar PV power plant in Saxony-Anhalt.
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Fluence confirmed yesterday (8 October) that Statkraft was awarded the project as part of Germany’s Innovation Tenders. The tenders, organised by the Bundesnetzagentur, also known as the Federal Network Agency, aim to accelerate the development of hybrid renewable energy assets to increase sustainability and efficiency across the energy system.
Germany’s Innovation Tenders, which saw its results released in July 2024, had a total available capacity of 583MW. 48 project bids were submitted, adding up to a total of 564MW, and ultimately 512MW was accepted, while five bids were rejected.
The auction sought solar-plus-storage projects on arable grasslands, with different criteria offered for different states. Bavaria was awarded the most capacity by far, with 245MW across 24 projects. Next closest was Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with four projects for 79MW and Schleswig-Holstein with five projects for 73MW.
Markus Meyer, managing director of Fluence Energy GmbH, said the increased focus on deploying renewable energy combined with storage assets is a “great opportunity for Germany”.
“Large-scale battery storage systems ensure energy security, limit curtailment, and are a forward-looking solution for the energy system. As a company with German roots and heritage, we are excited to work with our partners on transforming how we power Germany for a more sustainable future,” Meyer added.
The energy storage system will store energy from the solar PV power plant when power demand is low and supply energy to the grid when demand is high.
Fluence has ties to some of the largest BESS developments across the European continent. Indeed, the organisation is supplying the system for the Netherlands’ largest standalone BESS, a 45MW/90MWh project being deployed by utility Dispatch.
Fluence will provide 144 of its Cube grid-scale BESS products for the 2-hour system, which will be located in the port area of Dordrecht, near Rotterdam. The BESS will help balance supply and demand on the grid by storing excess renewable energy.
In a recent exclusive article for our quarterly journal PV Tech Power (Vol.40), Fluence’s Julian Jansen and Lars Stephan said that national and European policymakers need to “step up in the implementation of the European electricity market design reform”. The two also highlighted that the market design reform would be a game-changer for energy storage.
