Major energy storage system installed in western Latvia

RIGA, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) — Renewable energy company Utilitas Wind on Friday inaugurated the largest battery energy storage system (BESS) in Latvia to date, local media reported.
Installed at the Targale wind farm in Latvia’s western municipality of Ventspils, the system can store up to 20 MWh and dispatch up to 10 MW of electricity.
This fall, the facility will be connected to the Latvian power transmission system, which is a major step in the development of the Baltic country’s energy supply system. Investments in the BESS project have so far reached 7 million euros (7.59 million U.S. dollars).
“This is a historic moment in Latvia’s modern energy sector. We have been actively working on this project for two years and are proud to contribute to strengthening Latvia’s energy security. We are ready to continue our contribution to the development of the energy supply system,” Utilitas Wind board member Renars Urbanovics said at the inauguration event.
The project ensures that energy stored in the system can be dispatched in situations where the power grid is running out of electricity. In periods of high winds, when more power is generated than consumed, the surplus energy can be conveniently stored in the BESS.
Rolands Irklis, chief executive officer of the Latvian power transmission system operator Augstsprieguma Tikls (AST), voiced his hope that other similar projects will soon be launched in Latvia.
“Systems of this type have a high potential to provide AST with the balancing capacities it will need when participating in balancing capacity markets and optimizing the balancing costs for all system participants,” he said.
The combination of batteries with wind or solar generation also facilitates an efficient use of the transmission infrastructure, which benefits all system users in the long term, he added.
Utilitas Wind is an Estonian company specializing in renewable energy production, particularly wind energy. It is part of the Utilitas Group, Estonia’s largest renewable energy producer and district heating company. ■