Large batteries could save households €200 a year

Large-scale battery storage could save households €200 a year while stabilising Austria’s electricity grid, according to ORF. Upper Austria is experiencing a boom in such facilities, with grid operators receiving several hundred enquiries.

The batteries are intended to make electricity from solar and wind available even when there is no sunshine or wind. They are also expected to support the transition away from fossil fuels and ease pressure on the grid.

New large-scale storage facilities are being connected to the grid across Austria almost every week. In Wagenham near Pischelsdorf in the Innviertel region, the NGEN Group has recently commissioned one of Europe’s largest facilities, with a capacity of about 170 megawatt-hours. It is already connected to the high-voltage grid.

In July, Energie AG connected one of Upper Austria’s largest battery facilities at its power plant complex in Timelkam in the Vöcklabruck district. It has a storage capacity of 14.5 megawatt-hours, equivalent to about 1,450 household storage units with 10 kilowatt-hours each.

Alexander Kirchner, Energie AG’s chief technology officer, said the batteries would be activated whenever there were fluctuations or too much or too little electricity in the grid. Their use would primarily improve security of supply, he said.

The Austrian Energy Storage Association estimates that large batteries could save households €200 a year. In the medium term, they could also limit grid expansion costs if they meet certain criteria, according to regulator E-Control. Those criteria are currently being defined in a regulation expected to take effect in October.

Storage operator Powerlink also wants to benefit from the growing market. The Linz-based company is developing more than 40 projects in seven countries. Its partner Werner Steinecker said the company saw strong prospects, citing projects in Germany, Bulgaria and Romania.

Powerlink has completed a 60-megawatt-hour battery facility in Hörsching with logistics company Schachinger. The project is designed to optimise the use of renewable energy and supply electricity to Schachinger’s entire electric truck fleet.

Storage operators and E-Control remain divided over grid charges. Many operators are seeking a discount on network fees, while the regulator has so far resisted the demand.