French power company Neoen said it ordered construction of its first battery in Sweden. The contract to build the 40MW/40MWh Storen Power Reserve went to battery storage company Nidec.
Neoen said the lithium-ion battery will be located in the municipality of Ragunda, 100km from Östersund. It will connect to the 130kV E.ON grid. The battery is set to be operational in the first half of 2024.
In line with its develop-to-own model, Neoen owns 100% of Storen Power Reserve and will be the long-term operator. The battery will provide Svenska Kraftnät, the Swedish transmission system operator, with ancillary services including frequency containment reserve services.
Neoen said it aims to become a leading player in Sweden. Its Swedish assets include the 57.4MW Storbrännkullen wind farm (currently under construction) and the 90MWp Hultsfred solar park (construction planned for the second half of 2023).
Storen Power Reserve is Neoen’s second Nordic battery. The first was the 30MW/30MWh Yllikkälä Power Reserve in Finland, in operation since 2020.
It has a battery storage portfolio of over 1,000MW in operation or under construction. Neoen claims to own and operate two of the world’s largest batteries: the 300MW/450MWh Victorian Big Battery, and the 150MW/193.5MWh Hornsdale Power Reserve. They are both in Australia.
Xavier Barbaro, Neoen’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said: “We are convinced that large-scale battery storage is vital to the energy transition in Sweden, as in the rest of the world.”
