Statkraft, thought to be Europe's largest producer of renewable energy, has commissioned Germany's largest solar battery storage hybrid power plant under the country’s Renewable Energy Sources Act.
The €45 million plant was built on 41 hectares at a former gravel pit near the city of Zerbst/Anhalt. The 46.4MW solar farm generates almost 50 000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of green electricity per year – enough to save around 32,000 tons of CO₂ annually. The solar power generated receives a market premium from the EEG innovation tender.
The 88 battery cubes, each with 16 lithium-ion batteries and a total capacity of 16MW, store up to 57MWh of electricity. They can store the surplus from the solar modules and release it into the power grid whenever needed, increasing the profitability of the solar park and at the same time helping to stabilise both the power grid and electricity prices. Final tests are currently under way on the stable grid connection at the Zerbst plant. The plant has been feeding energy into the grid since October.
The renewable hybrid power plant in Zerbst is the first of its kind for Statkraft – developed in-house and connected to the grid by Statkraft as a project developer in Germany. Over the past few years, the company has continuously built up its project development business and currently has a pipeline of wind, solar and storage projects with a potential total capacity of 4TW.
The plant was inaugurated by Saxony-Anhalt's Minister-President Reiner Haseloff. In his speech he said: "The Zerbst solar park is a lighthouse project that shows how the energy transition in Saxony-Anhalt is succeeding. With this project, Saxony-Anhalt is proving that we can implement the energy transition pragmatically and efficiently. The innovative storage technology makes this hybrid power plant an important building block for grid stability and supplies reliable energy. We need such showcase projects nationwide."
The city of Zerbst/Anhalt benefits financially from the project. In addition to trade tax, Statkraft pays a voluntary municipal tax. Zerbst/Anhalt can freely dispose of the income of around €100,000.
