A German energy company has announced plans to build a multi-gigawatt green energy hub that will replace baseload power currently being provided by one of the country’s biggest brown coal generators.
The plans unveiled by LEAG and US energy storage manufacturer ESS Tech consist of up to 14GW of renewable generation paired with between 2 to 3GWh of energy storage, as well as 2GW of green hydrogen capacity.
The first step will be the deployment of a 50MW/500MWh iron flow battery system to be located at the lignite-fired 2.6GW Boxberg power plant site in east Germany.
Eric Dresselhuys, the CEO of ESS said the Boxberg project could become a model for utilities and communities worldwide transitioning from coal to clean, renewable energy.
“The deployment of renewables and long-duration energy storage will not only deliver reliable, clean energy to effectively replace the baseload power currently provided by coal, it will deliver economic opportunity and a cleaner environment for Germany,” he said in a statement.
Australian coal utilities are planning similar conversions, with AGL focused on turning its coal and gas generation centres into clean energy and industrial hubs, and most other coal plant operators planning similar projects.
LEAG says it wants to transform the coal-dependent Eastern Germany into the country’s “Green Powerhouse”. As one of Germany’s top 5 electricity producers, LEAG currently operates large-scale lignite mining and coal-fired generation plants and is responsible for 10 per cent of electricity production in Germany.
The iron flow battery system, likely to be commissioned in 2027, is expected to become a standardised foundation in LEAG’s larger plans to deploy up to 3GW of storage in transforming its existing power plant locations.
“A key requirement for our transformation into Germany’s Green Powerhouse is the deployment of cost-effective long-duration energy storage,” said Thorsten Kramer, the CEO of LEAG.
“We are energised to demonstrate the value of iron flow battery technology at scale.”
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