Published: 21 Feb 2022, 10:26
The project is Fluence’s third involving battery-based energy storage co-located with wind farms in Ireland. Image: Fluence.
A 10.8MW battery-based energy storage system (BESS) supplied by Fluence for the Killala Community Wind Farm has entered the commissioning phase.
The BESS is co-located with the Greencoat Renewables-owned wind farm in County Mayo, Ireland. It marks the first investment in energy storage technologies by Greencoat Renewables, and the first of any company managed by Greencoat Capital.
Once operational, it will help to increase system stability in the Irish electricity grid through participation in energy flexibility markets. The BESS is to make use of Fluence’s Gridstack product, which is designed for grid applications including frequency regulation, flexible peaking capacity and enhanced transmission and distribution services.
The company said it was chosen by Greencoat Renewables based on its “successful track record in deploying complex battery-based energy storage systems with high configurability, and industry-leading reliability and safety standards”.
The BESS is Fluence’s third project involving battery-based energy storage co-located with wind farms in Ireland, and its tenth publicly announced venture in the Irish Single Electricity Market.
Last year, two projects in Ireland between Fluence and ESB were announced, with the two – a 75MW/150MWh and a 30MW/60MWh battery – both being located in Dublin at existing ESB plants.
Meanwhile, Statkraft partnered Fluence for a 11MW project co-located with Statkraft’s first standalone Irish onshore wind project, Kilathmoy, on the Limerick/Kerry border in the south-west of Ireland in 2020.
Fluence managing director of UK, Ireland & Israel, Dr. Marek Kubik, pointed to how the Irish government has increased the target percentage of renewables in the generation mix in 2030 from 70% to 80%.
“Targeting levels of 5GW offshore wind, 8GW onshore wind and 1.5-2.5GW solar PV, makes it more important than ever for investors and developers of green generation to look at battery-based energy storage technologies as a way of maximising operational, financial and environmental benefits of their assets,” he said.