The battery energy storage system (BESS) has an installed capacity of 7.5 megawatts (MW) and a storage capacity of 11 megawatt hours (MWh). Highly responsive control technology and inverters with grid-forming functionality enable the system to supply or absorb power within milliseconds, helping to stabilise the electricity grid. This stabilising function is known as inertia.
The more electricity comes from fluctuating renewable sources, the harder it becomes to keep the power grid stable. Inertia plays a crucial role in this context, as it provides the fastest available form of balancing energy. Until now, inertia has mainly come from the rotating masses of turbines in conventional power plants, such as those fired by coal.
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Nikolaus Valerius, CEO of RWE Generation SE, stated: “Our newest plant in Moerdijk shows that ultra-fast battery energy storage systems can deliver the grid-serving inertia once solely provided by conventional power plants. With the phase-out of fossil fuel-fired large power plants, more and more such systems are needed to stabilise the grid.”
Developing standards for future BESS
The Moerdijk BESS was developed and built as part of OranjeWind, a joint offshore wind project off the Dutch coast led by RWE and its partner TotalEnergies. Using advanced lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) technology combined with ultra-fast inverters, the plant serves as a blueprint for RWE’s plans to significantly scale up its BESS capacities worldwide.
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Alongside commercial operation, the Moerdijk plant is undergoing a two-year pilot phase aimed at developing standards for future BESS capable of providing inertia. RWE is working with transmission system operator TenneT to use insights from the project to help define technical requirements and grid compliance procedures for grid-forming systems.
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RWE develops, builds and operates battery storage systems in the US, Europe and Australia. The company currently operates systems with a combined capacity of around 1,200 megawatts. (hcn)
