US energy storage firm NEC Energy Solution (NEC ES) is to supply a Swiss utility with grid storage that will potentially be “the largest battery energy storage system in Switzerland”.
The 18MW/ 7.5MWh GSS grid storage solution including lithium-ion batteries will be delivered to electricity distributor Elektrizitaetswerke des Kantons Zuerich (EKZ) in early 2018.
EKZ will own and operate the battery system, to be built at an existing substation in Volketswil, near Zuerich. The facility will have a capacity equivalent to the daily electricity consumption of 600 households, NEC ES said.
EKZ project manager Marina González Vayá said: “We strongly believe that battery storage will play a key role in tomorrow’s power networks. With this first large-scale commercial battery storage project performing primary reserve in Switzerland, we’re taking an important step towards a reliable and sustainable energy future.”