| Energy storage developments Wärtsilä project updates
Wärtsilä, not so long ago seen as being totally focused on the supply of reciprocating-engine- based power plants, continues to consolidate its position as a key player in the energy storage business, as recent projects demonstrate.
Another big battery in Australia In Australia, for example, Wärtsilä is supplying a 250 MW / 250 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) to AGL Energy Limited. It will be installed at the Torrens Island power plant in South Australia and will be AGL’s first grid- scale BESS project, and the second biggest in Australia.
When installed, the system will support a broad portfolio of generating assets, both thermal and renewable, and help Australia to decarbonise and transition towards 100% renewable energy.
AGL is an integrated essential service provider with electricity generation capacity of more than 11 000 MW, representing about 20% of the total generating capacity within Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM). The order, worth more than 100 million euro, is the first placed under a framework agreement signed between Wärtsilä and AGL in 2020 for the supply of energy storage projects. AGL plans up to 1 GW of grid-scale energy storage across Australia, a country with significant renewable energy resources. The flexible capacity provided by the advanced BESS will create an efficient means for balancing the supply of energy from renewable sources, thereby maintaining the stability and reliability of the grid, says Wärtsilä.
The Torrens Island system will be delivered by Wärtsilä on a full engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) basis, and designed to provide grid-support capabilities to AGL’s asset portfolio. It is expected to become operational in the early part of 2023.
The Wärtsilä system will operate initially in grid-following mode before switching at a later date to grid-forming mode (virtual synchronous generation (VSG)), “making it the largest energy storage solution capable of operating in this
mode”, the company says, enabling very fast response times and future-proofing the Torrens Island facility. The complexities of the project are “supported by Wärtsilä’s advanced GEMS Power Plant Controller and energy management software”, the company says. Wärtsilä has previously supplied a 211 MW power plant for AGL, the Barker Inlet station, also located on Torrens Island. This employs 12 Wärtsilä 50DF multi-fuel engines running on natural gas.
“The hybrid combination of gas-fuelled combustion engines and energy storage will play an increasingly important role in Australia’s energy future”, Wärtsilä believes.
Supporting Taiwan’s grid In Taiwan, Wärtsilä is supplying a 5.2 MW / 5.2 MWh energy storage system to provide frequency regulation in the ancillary service market for the Taiwanese grid as the country seeks to achieve 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2025 (which will be augmented with an additional 15 GW of offshore wind power by 2035).
The order was placed with Wärtsilä in August 2021 by Shangfa Construction which will build the Beimen energy storage facility on behalf of North-Star International Co, Ltd. Taiwan’s state-owned integrated utility, Taiwan Power Company, has opened a day- ahead ancillary service market, including frequency regulation, spinning reserve and supplementary reserve services. The Wärtsilä system will allow North-Star International to provide frequency regulation and spinning reserve services. Frequency regulation will enable the integration of greater levels of renewables, while the Wärtsilä energy storage technology will support frequency stability and enhance the reliability of the system – important requirements for industries such as semiconductor manufacturing. “North-Star moves actively towards renewable energy solutions, including power generation, EV charging, energy storage, and electricity sales…Wärtsilä has strong
Above: Wärtsilä GridSolv Quantum energy storage system. © Wärtsilä Corporation
energy storage systems and extensive global construction experience, as well as complete technology in energy software management, which can shorten the learning curve for us in energy storage”, commented Eddie Ho, vice chairman and spokesperson, North-Star International.
“This order represents our first energy storage contract for Taiwan’s competitive market, and is an endorsement of the global acknowledgement of our advanced technology. The system will ensure that a high-quality power supply is maintained through seamlessly integrating renewables into the grid,” said Nicolas Leong, energy business director, North & South East Asia, Wärtsilä.
The Beimen energy storage project will be located in the city of Kaohsiung in Taiwan. It will include Wärtsilä’s Gridsolv Quantum (a fully integrated, modular and compact energy storage system), a power conversion system, and Wärtsilä’s GEMS digital energy platform. The system is expected to be operational in late Q1, 2022.
Pivot Power’s superhubs Meanwhile, in the UK, Wärtsilä is supplying 100 MW / 200 MWh of energy storage systems to Pivot Power, part of EDF Renewables, for its next two projects, in the Midlands, supporting the roll-out of Pivot Power’s innovative Energy Superhub model.
Above: Visualisation of Wärtsilä’s 250 MW / 250 MWh battery energy storage system to be built at the South Australian Torrens Island power station. © Wärtsilä Corporation
Wärtsilä will install batteries at two sites, in the city of Coventry and the borough of Sandwell on the outskirts of Birmingham. Construction is due to commence at Sandwell in Q4 2021 and at Coventry in Q1 2022. These new systems are a continuation of Wärtsilä’s existing collaboration with Pivot Power. Wärtsilä is already delivering 100 MW of energy storage for two Pivot Power projects: Energy Superhub Oxford (ESO), where Wärtsilä is providing 50 MW of lithium-ion energy storage; and a further 50 MW in Kemsley, Kent. The ESO project will include what is described as the world’s largest lithium-ion and vanadium redox flow hybrid grid-scale energy storage system, which is being developed in partnership with Invinity Energy Systems. The hybrid battery is supporting the development of a high-powered EV charging network delivering
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