Largest BESS in Belgium, EStor-Lux, formally ushered in

• EStor-Lux, Belgium's battery energy storage system (BESS) at 10MW/20MWh, was formally ushered in on Tuesday (26 April).

The inauguration ceremony for the BESS was gone to by around 100 Belgian energy field stakeholders consisting of Tinne Van der Straeten, Federal Minister of Energy.

The 480-module lithium-ion BESS, which remains in Bastogne in the Wallonia region, has been taking part in grid frequency public auctions issued by grid driver Elia given that December 2021 as reported by Energy-storage. information.

This has actually primarily been in automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve (aFRR), a recently-launched soon-to-be pan-European grid service. Considering that its launch, the BESS has actually offered over 30GWh of balancing capability. Centrica Business Solutions supervises of the optimisation.

Clean Horizon's head of market evaluation Corentin Baschet informed Energy-storage. information in February that BESS projects can record one-third of the aFFR market in the coming years.

The project was introduced by a consortium consisting of financial investment teams SRIW, Ackermans & van Haaren, BEWATT, SOCOFE as well as SOFILUX, engineering and also building firm CFE and also Belgian federal government growth organisation IDELUX. The project was not subsidised, the companies stated, with approximately 50% of funding offered by a non-recourse small business loan.

Other attendees at the inauguration included Willy Borsus, Vice-President and also Walloon Minister of Economic Climate, Philippe Henry, Vice-President as well as Walloon Minister of Climate and also Energy, and Benoît Lutgen, Mayor of Bastogne.

The EStor-Lux consortium chairman Bruno Vanderschueren cited four reasons for the project's success. These were the increased developed of renewable energies and also resulting demand for flexible sources, the development of BESS modern technology, good government as well as local regulatory frameworks and the top quality of the consortium's partners.