BEVERUNGEN (dpa-AFX) - One of the largest battery storage facilities in Germany is to be built at the site of the former Würgassen nuclear power plant at a cost of around 92 million euros. A plot of land has been allocated for the pilot project "Würgassen Storage Park" by the town of Beverungen in the border triangle of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Hesse, as Mayor Hubertus Grimm reported on Tuesday. The municipal energy service provider Westfalen Weser is planning the construction with an initial output of 120 megawatts (MW) and a capacity of 280 megawatt hours (MWh).

According to Grimm, completion is planned for the second half of 2026. The new plant is intended to increase the stability of the power supply. Grimm and Westfalen Weser jointly announced that the location is particularly suitable for a battery storage facility as the former nuclear power plant - in operation until August 1994 - offers a substation and corresponding lines.

"At the end of 2023, the Federal Ministry for the Environment fortunately rejected plans for a central storage facility for low- and intermediate-level nuclear waste in Würgassen," said Grimm at the presentation. The federal states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia and citizens' initiatives had vehemently opposed the original plans. "With a forward-looking project that focuses on the energy transition, we are living up to our role as one of the four energy locations named in the NRW regional plan. I am therefore delighted that one of the largest battery storage facilities in Germany will be built in Würgassen," said Grimm.

Battery storage at other locations too

The energy group RWE already operates battery storage facilities at several locations in Germany, including a double battery with a total of 117 megawatts at the two power plant sites in Lingen in Lower Saxony and Werne in North Rhine-Westphalia. A further double battery with a total capacity of 220 megawatts is currently under construction at the Neurath and Hamm power plant sites (both in North Rhine-Westphalia).

RWE has just built battery storage facilities in the USA. Three storage facilities with a capacity of 190 megawatts have now been completed in the states of Texas and Arizona, as the company announced in Essen in February. According to RWE, it plans to expand its global battery storage capacity in Europe, Australia and the USA to 6000 megawatts by 2030. Battery storage systems are generally used in the wholesale market: When prices are low, electricity is stored. When they are high, the electricity is sold again./lic/DP/men