The energy supplier EnBW basically wants to install battery storage in newly planned solar parks in the future. According to its own information, the Karlsruhe-based group is the first energy company in Germany to use such storage systems in solar parks as standard. “We want to invest a double-digit million sum in the next one to two years,” said Thorsten Jörß, head of photovoltaics project development.
With battery storage, green electricity can be fed into the grid more flexibly and independently of weather-related fluctuations: namely, not only when a particularly large amount of electricity is being generated due to good wind or sun conditions. The electricity can be “temporarily stored” and comes into the network depending on need and demand. EnBW has already installed battery storage at solar park locations in Brandenburg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The utility has been building and operating solar parks in Germany since 2008.
According to the information, it is being examined whether existing solar parks can be retrofitted. To achieve this, the Karlsruhe-based company initially wants to concentrate on its own solar parks, i.e. without any investment companies. There are 35 EnBW solar parks in Germany, 20 of which are in Baden-Württemberg alone, said Jörß. A separate building permit is required for retrofitting. In addition, the space must be available for this. There are similar considerations for equipping wind farms.
Information from EnBW on intelligent battery storage
