Finland's Fortum will install the Nordic countries' biggest battery to support grid stability, the company announced on Wednesday.
Fortum said it would put into use a €3 million battery solution, the Nordics' biggest battery to date, at Fortum’s Forshuvud hydropower plant located on the Dalalven in Sweden.
The battery system’s output is 5 megawatts with a storage capacity of 6.2 megawatt-hours.
'Batteries are thought to be used mostly to store energy. Now, however, we will try connecting a battery to a hydropower plant with the idea of improving the plant’s ability to function as regulating power for the Nordic electricity network,' says Martin Lindstrom, head of asset management hydro at Fortum.
'The battery’s very quick response time improves the speed and preciseness of the Forshuvud hydropower plant’s regulation, so we are able to provide even better service to grid companies. We hope that this significant innovation helps us to more quickly achieve Sweden’s ambitious targets for renewable energy use and create a cleaner world,' Lindstrom said.
Fortum is a frontrunner in testing and deploying innovative solutions.
Over the past two years the company has tested a similar concept at its combined heat and power plant in Jarvenpaa in Finland. The concept has proven to be functional, and the battery solution to be taken into use in Forshuvud is based on the experiences gained in Jarvenpaa.
The construction work will start in early 2019, and the aim is to have the battery in use during the first half of next year.
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
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