Statkraft, a Norwegian renewable energy generator, has won a tender from the German regulatory authority, the Federal Network Agency, to build a solar plus battery storage project in the German municipality of Zerbst. In May 2023, the federal authority issued the tenders, which had a 400 MW maximum production. Statkraft had applied for a tender for a co-located solar plant with a connected battery on the site of a former gravel pit.
The solar power plant’s maximum output will be 47 MW. The project will supply 14,000 German houses with clean energy each year. The co-located battery storage is designed to have a capacity of 16 MW and a power storage time of two hours. The process of putting out tenders for the plant’s components has already begun at Statkraft. It expects to commence operations in the summer of 2025. The selection of the company’s tender guarantees that the authority will buy the electricity from the project at a market premium. The company has taken advantage of regulations that will only apply for the current year of 2023 in making the bid. The regulations permit the amount bid for solar systems to be more than 20 MW.
In May 2023, Statkraft and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) won an auction for a 500MW offshore wind project in Ireland. The North Irish Sea Array (NISA) offshore wind farm will be located off the east coast near the city of Dublin and the counties of Louth and Meath. The project is expected to generate power for half a million Irish homes and businesses.
