Tesla and Restore bring mass storage devices on line in Belgium
Published on : Monday 30-11--0001
In Belgium, 140 mass storage devices capable of providing an output of 18.2 megawatts at short notice have been connected to the electricity grid. The project involves cooperation between Tesla and the demand response aggregator Restore.
A total of 140 Tesla mass storage devices have recently been installed in Terhills in eastern Belgium and connected to the national power grid. The Powerpacks have a storage capacity of 210 kilowatt hours (kWh) each and can deliver an output of 18.2 megawatts (MW) at short notice.
This corresponds to just under a quarter of the 81 MW which, according to the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity ( ENTSO-E ), is required for emergency supply in Belgium.
Tesla built the system together with the Belgian energy technology company Restore which, as a demand response aggregator, manages the power supply between network operators and customers. The storage devices are intended to offset fluctuations in the European power grid and to maintain the necessary mains frequency of 50 Hertz.
The electricity, which is stored at high frequency in the batteries, is fed into the grid when required as a service to the grid operators – for which purpose gas turbines, for example, which are significantly more expensive to operate, would otherwise have to be used.
US electric car and energy storage systems manufacturer Tesla has unveiled a massive new Powerpack energy storage project for grid balancing in Terhills, Belgium. The launch of the new project implies that Tesla has deployed another large Powerpack energy storage project in Europe.
The new large Powerpack energy storage project unveiled by Tesla in Belgium will be capable of delivering a total power output of 18.2 MW, thanks to its 140 Powerpacks and a group of Tesla inverters. The project will be used as a virtual power plant for grid balancing.
Tesla has revealed that the new Powerpack project in Belgium will be used for grid services in the same way as the company’s 100MW/129MWh Powerpack project is being used in South Australia. The project in South Australia has had a substantial impact on the cost of frequency control and ancillary services (FCAS).
For building the massive new Powerpack project in Belgium, Tesla teamed up with demand response aggregator Restore, which will offer balancing services to transmission system operators in Europe.
About the Tesla-Restore partnership for launching the new large Powerpack project, Louis Burford -- Restore’s UK Vice President -- has told The Energyst that the assets of the two companies have been bundled as a ‘synthetic pool.’ Burford also added that a second project similar to the one unveiled in Belgium will also be launched soon by the two companies in the UK.
Tesla and Restore