Municipal utility to build 25-MWh battery at hydro plant in Bavaria

German municipal utility Stadtwerke Muenchen (SWM) is set to begin building a 25-MW/25-MWh energy storage facility near a hydropower plant and a solar park in Bavaria.

The storage system will be located near the Wang municipality in southern Germany next to the 24.6-MW Uppenbornwerk 1 hydro plant on the Isar River. It is expected to come into operation at the end of 2022, SWM said on Thursday.

The utility is currently preparing to start the construction of ten battery storage containers and the associated buildings and systems.

The battery will store green electricity to stabilise the power grid and supply primary balancing power with the help of the hydropower station, SWM explained.

In operation since 1930, Uppenbornwerk 1 has three turbines that generate 87 million kWh of clean power per year on average. Right next to the power station, SWM commissioned last year a ground-mounted solar park whose annual output is enough to supply more than 1,600 households.

SWM, wholly owned by the city of Munich, supplies electricity, natural gas, district heating, district cooling and spring fresh drinking water to the Bavarian metropolis. Along with hydropower, the company's green energy portfolio includes geothermal, solar, wind and biomass power plants. SWM's hydropower plants generate 357 million kWh per year on average.

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