Siemens to develop hybrid grid stabilisation & BESS plant in Ireland

Siemens Energy has announced it will deliver the first-ever hybrid grid stabilisation and large-scale battery storage plant at Shannonbridge in Ireland. 

The €85 million plant will include a 160MWh battery storage facility.

The company said it was the first time the two technologies has been combined into a single grid connection to “stabilise the grid and make better use of renewable energy”.

Siemens said the “proven synchronous condenser technology uses a generator with a flywheel connected”. It described the system as a “big rotating mass and with its stored energy, the synchronous condenser provides power reserve, which instantly compensates for frequency fluctuations and strengthens the stability of the grid”. 

It added that the battery energy storage could supply around 9,500 households with power for a full day. The flywheel which will deliver around 4000MWs of inertia onto the system, the company claimed.

Work on the project has already begun.

Tim Holt, member of the managing board of Siemens Energy, said: “Innovative technical solutions are essential if we are to combat the consequences of climate change and transition to a net-zero grid. Battery storage systems will play an increasingly pivotal role in tomorrow’s global energy infrastructure. By combining our proven experience in grid technology and our ability to innovate, the Shannonbridge hybrid solution will help ramp-up renewables by offering storage and stabilisation technology in one connection.”

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