Construction has begun on Sweden’s largest Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) undertaken by Neoen, an Independent Power Producer and Nidec, a system integrator. The project has been projected to come online in early 2025. Neoen is headquartered in Paris. The company gave full notice to proceed to Nidec following an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement in December 2023. Named Isbillen Power Reserve, the 1-hour duration Battery Energy Storage System project will be the largest in Sweden and the largest in the Nordics by megawatt (MW) power. The largest by megawatt-hours energy capacity in the Nordics will be a 2-hour project in Finland that Neoen recently started building. It has a capacity of 112.9MWh, and that is also set to come online at the start of 2025.
Location of Sweden’s largest battery energy storage system
Located in Västernorrland, Isbillen Power Reserve is just 6km from another Neoen BESS, the 52MW/52MWh Storen Power Reserve, which has nearly been completed according to Neoen. The facility will mainly provide subsidiary services, specifically Frequency Containment Reserve, to Swedish transmission system operator (TSO) Svenska Kraftnät. It will be connected to the 130kV grid area operated by distribution system operator (DSO) E.ON Energidistribution. Nidec will provide the BESS which it will manufacture and assemble in France. Furthermore, the inverters will be built in Italy. More than “half of the value of the project” will be of European origin.
The Isbillen Power Reserve Capacity
With a capacity of 93.6 MW/93.9 MWh, the facility will be owned fully by Neoen. “We are delighted to be launching the construction of another record-breaking battery project in Sweden. I would like to thank in particular the distribution system operator E.ON and local stakeholders for their active support. With now over 300 MW of assets in operation or under construction in the country, including 146 MW of batteries, we are among the most dynamic players in renewable energy in Sweden,” said Laetitia Prot, Managing Director of Neoen Sweden.
Neoen’s Storen Power Reserve battery
Also under construction by Neoen is the Storen Power Reserve battery. Located in Ragunda, Jämtland County, Sweden, the plant will have a capacity of 40 MW / 40 MWh. It will be connected to the 130-kV E.ON grid. The power plant is expected to come online within the next few weeks and will also provide Svenska Kraftnät, the Swedish transmission system operator, with ancillary services. It will help maintain the balance between production and consumption in real time. Additionally, it will efficiently enhance the power system security. The battery will reduce grid stabilization costs while facilitating the integration of renewable energy assets.
Neoen owns and operates two of the world’s largest batteries. These are the 300 MW / 450 MWh Victorian Big Battery, and the 150 MW / 193.5 MWh Hornsdale Power Reserve, both in Australia. “We are delighted to see Neoen expanding fast in Sweden, only two years after setting up our team in Stockholm,” said Laetitia Prot, Head of Business Development Sweden in 2023 when construction began.
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