Battery energy storage systems balance the future electricity system
Renewable energy sources are our best means of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from energy production. However, in addition to the benefits, production also brings along new challenges: wind cannot be controlled, and the sun cannot be coaxed out from behind clouds. Something is needed to balance the variable production. Battery energy storage meets this need.
The importance of storage as part of the balancing of the electricity system and competitive energy production has rapidly increased in recent years. With storage, energy can be captured on productive days to use when needed. In Finland, battery storage plays an important role in Fingrid’s reserve markets, as they balance production or consumption disturbances in the energy system.
“For Finland’s competitiveness, it is essential that the electricity system can reconcile variable electricity production and industrial electricity demand. This requires an increase in the amount of demand response, electricity storage, regulating power, and cross-border transmission connections in the system. Battery storage is competitive compared to many other flexible resources, as they can be adjusted quickly and can operate very flexibly across multiple markets,” says Fingrid’s customer manager Markus Talka.
Destia implements battery energy storage systems on a turnkey basis
As long as the production of renewable energy increases, the demand for energy storage will also grow.
At Destia, this demand is met by product manager Anders Blomqvist and project manager Tiina Turpeinen, who both have years of experience in the field and are familiar with the market. In their roles, they oversee the entire lifecycle of battery storage projects, as Destia implements projects from planning to maintenance.
“We can offer customers battery storage construction on a turnkey basis, including the BESS equipment, substations and power line construction. If needed, we can sell solutions separately, but having one unified project management brings clarity, certainty, and manageability to both the contractor and the customer,” Blomqvist says.
“Fewer risks and scheduling challenges. Additionally, the customer has only one interface to work with in the project,” Turpeinen adds.
The project’s most significant feature is found in the containers
Rows of battery storage resembling shipping containers can now be found all over Finland. In recent years, Destia has carried out infrastructure work for two storages in Yllikkälä, Lappeenranta, the newer of which, Yllikkälä Power Reserve 2, is the largest operational battery storage in the Nordic countries. The nominal power of the storage is 56.6 megawatts, and its energy capacity is 112.9 megawatt-hours, allowing it to discharge or charge its entire energy capacity within two hours.
“Instead of one-hour batteries, more two- or even four-hour batteries are being made nowadays. They have the same power but more batteries themselves, allowing for longer capacity and making the storage more versatile. In addition to frequency regulation, battery storage can also be used as backup power or to smooth price fluctuations by storing energy during higher production periods,” Blomqvist explains.
Large 45-ton and 1500-volt DC battery containers are not something that one can install in many other projects. However, the contracting process itself is similar in many ways to more familiar substation or power line construction.
“The basic work is similar to many other earthworks and electrical contracts, in which we have extensive expertise. However, each project is always its own entity, and the project team is assembled according to needs. The overall project plan is always carefully considered,” Turpeinen says.
Carefulness is key in selecting equipment suppliers
A central part of the battery energy storage project is the procurement and installation of the equipment itself. When dealing with the reliability of Finland’s electricity grid and the security of supply for society, there is no room for errors. Quality and safety must be guaranteed in every project.
“We collaborate with a high-quality European inverter and control device manufacturer. With carefully selected partners, we can ensure the reliability and safety of the equipment, as well as a smooth commissioning process without surprises and delays, even in northern conditions,” Blomqvist states.
When looking at the overall market, a large portion of the equipment still comes to Finland from across the oceans.
“The prices of electricity storage have significantly decreased in recent years, and a very large number of electricity storage systems and control devices currently come from outside Europe. This risk should also be assessed from the perspective of supply security, and Europe should develop measures for its own replacement solutions, particularly around the expertise of control devices,” Talka concludes.