German power grid’s battery capacity increased by 3rd by 2024

According to official data released on Thursday, Germany’s power grid battery capacity—which is used to stabilize electrical networks—has increased by about a third so far this year. This increase is a result of efforts to assist grids handle more renewable power.
By 2030, the Berlin government intends 80% of electricity to come from solar and wind energy. In the first half of 2024, electricity production was 60% derived from renewable sources.
Increasing storage is necessary to help achieve the long-term objectives of reducing intraday power price volatility in the wholesale market and assisting in the system’s ability to balance supply and demand. There are no set goals for the type of storage that the government must build.Battery companies stand to gain from selling electricity at high prices and storing energy in their batteries during low or even negative prices.
“We see a significant, market-driven surge in battery storage,” a spokesman for the German ministry of economics stated in response to a question from Reuters.
The spokesman mentioned actions made to expedite approvals and lower costs and levies for the new infrastructure.The spokesperson cited a government-commissioned market register, which indicated that on September 18, 1.8 gigawatt hours (GWh) of capacity had been completed, as opposed to 1.4 GWh on January 1.
With support from energy broker Vitol, the British power company VPI said a week ago that it will invest up to 450 million euros ($502.07 million) in battery projects over the next three to five years, primarily in Germany’s windy northeast.The Aachen Technical University’s market registry included a pipeline of 3.7 GWh of known projects from now until September 2027.
One local player developing and running storage assets is Utility RWE (RWEG.DE), opens new tab.
As part of a number of domestic and international projects, RWE plans to start producing 235 megawatt hours at the Neurath and Hamm power plant locations in North Rhine-Westphalia by the end of 2024, according to a spokeswoman.