The energy group RWE has completed three large-scale storage facilities in Texas and Arizona with a total capacity of 190 megawatts. Together, the three storage units can temporarily store 361 megawatt hours of electricity. This brings the company's installed storage capacity in the US to 512 megawatts. RWE also has further storage projects with a total capacity of 770 megawatts currently under construction in the United States.
Six gigawatts of storage capacity planned
This means that RWE's storage capacity in the US alone will rise to over 1.two gigawatts in the foreseeable future. This is more capacity than the company currently operates worldwide in terms of storage capacity. This currently stands at 700 megawatts. A good one gigawatt is currently under construction.
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"With the rapid growth of wind and solar projects, battery storage is becoming increasingly important to stabilise the electricity grid and ensure that there is enough electricity to meet demand," says Andrew Flanagan, Managing Director of RWE Clean Energy, explaining the high demand. "As part of our Growing Green strategy, we plan to expand our battery portfolio to six gigawatts worldwide by 2030. The completion of our three newest battery storage facilities in the US contributes to this goal."
100-megawatt storage unit in North Texas
The largest of the three new facilities is located in Sulphur Springs. The Bright Arrow facility in the small town in north-east Texas has an output of 100 megawatts and a storage capacity of 200 megawatt hours. The plant is linked to a solar park with an output of 300 megawatts.
A further 200 megawatts of solar power capacity is currently being installed here. This new plant is scheduled to go into operation in spring 2024. The function of the storage unit is to temporarily store surplus solar power that cannot be fed into the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (Ercot) distribution grid at the time of production. It will then later feed the solar energy into the grid, which NRV Energy will market to its customers.
Big Star generates 80 megawatts
Another storage unit called Big Star is also located in Texas. The plant in Bastrop County just outside Austin in the south of the state has an output of 80 megawatts. It can temporarily store 120 megawatt hours of electricity from a solar park connected to it with a capacity of 200 megawatts.
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The solar plant is currently in test operation and will finally be connected to the grid in March 2024. The battery storage system also feeds into the Ercot grid.
Mesquite 4 in Arizona
The new storage unit in Arizona is located in Maricopa County, not far from the capital Phoenix. The facility stores the electricity from a 50.two megawatt solar park and feeds a maximum output of ten megawatts into the grid. With a capacity of 40 megawatt hours, the storage unit called Mesquite 4 can at least shift part of the solar park's daily production into the hours without sunshine. (su/mfo)
