RWE gives green light for utility-scale battery storage project in the Netherlands

• 35 MW storage systems to be installed at RWE biomass plant in Eemshaven
• Battery storage to be virtually coupled with RWE power plants in the Netherlands
• RWE to invest approximately 24 million euros
• Construction to start late 2023, battery storage to supply control energy from 2025

RWE is further expanding its battery storage business worldwide. The company has now finalised its investment decision for a Dutch battery storage project with an installed power capacity of 35 megawatts (MW) and a storage capacity of 41 megawatt-hours (MWh).
A total of 110 lithium-ion battery racks are to be installed at RWE’s biomass plant in Eemshaven on an area of around 3,000 square metres. RWE plans to invest approximately 24 million euros.

The battery project is an important step towards a portfolio of innovative demand assets to optimally integrate the weather-related fluctuating power generation profile of the “OranjeWind” offshore wind farm into the Dutch energy system. In 2022, RWE had secured the implementation of the offshore project off the Dutch coast with a system integration concept that combines the wind farm with the generation of green hydrogen and other solutions such as battery storage.

Roger Miesen, CEO RWE Generation and Country Chair for the Netherlands: “With the increasing share of renewable energies in the electricity mix, the demand for flexible battery storage is also rising. With this large-scale project, RWE is gaining experience in the marketing of energy storage systems on the Dutch energy markets and is actively contributing towards stabilising the Dutch electricity grid.”

The planned battery storage facility can operate at its installed capacity of 35 MW for over an hour. This is sufficient to charge around 800 EVs. The system has been designed to be virtually coupled across technologies with RWE power plants in the Netherlands. This enables optimal management of balancing energy, which can be supplied by selected units either individually or as a group. The battery storage system receives excess power from the electricity grid and feeds it back into the system when required, in order to maintain the required grid frequency.

Battery storage@RWE

Battery storage systems are an essential part of the energy transition – they store the leftover electricity from surplus production and make it available again when needed.

As one of the leaders of the energy transition, RWE develops, builds and operates battery storage systems in Europe, Australia and the US. RWE aims to build more than three gigawatts of batteries by 2030. RWE benefits from its many years of experience with battery storage systems and is therefore taking care of the detailed planning, modelling, system integration and commissioning of the projects directly and entirely on its own.

In Germany, RWE commissioned its mega battery in Lingen and Werne, with a total capacity of 117 MW, at the beginning of 2023. The company plans to virtually connect this battery storage system with its run-of-river power plants on the Moselle River. A 220-MW battery storage system is currently under construction at RWE’s Neurath and Westfalen power plants. In March, the company acquired British developer JBM Solar, with an advanced development pipeline of 2.3 gigawatts of battery storage projects. At its German opencast mines, RWE is implementing innovative PV-storage plants. Recently, RWE won an Australian tender for a long-term battery storage facility (50 MW/400 MWh).

Forward-looking statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements reflect the current views, expectations and assumptions of management, and are based on information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements do not guarantee the occurrence of future results and developments and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual future results and developments may deviate materially from the expectations and assumptions expressed in this document due to various factors. These factors primarily include changes in the general economic and competitive environment. Furthermore, developments on financial markets and changes in currency exchange rates as well as changes in national and international laws, in particular in respect of fiscal regulation, and other factors influence the company’s future results and developments. Neither the company nor any of its affiliates undertakes to update the statements contained in this press release.