We visited the unique Decci Energy Nest balancing station

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Decci Energy Nest is a balancing station near Vraňany in the Central Bohemian Region. This balancing station has the main task of balancing fluctuations in the power grid using battery sources and gas turbines. The balancing capacity of the unit is to be up to a total capacity of 30 MW. The planned total capacity is up to 52.4 MW

Modular construction

"The Energy Nest has been designed so that its capacity can be increased or simply expanded with other similar hybrid systems if required. It is a modular and scalable solution that occupies an area of 1 ha thanks to its containerised design. At the same time, it exhibits top parameters of availability and reliability. In the future, the possibility of producing green hydrogen is also envisaged," explains Darina Merdassi of another of Energy Nest's advantages. vysvětluje Darina Merdassi další z výhod Energy nest.

Technology

The plant is therefore assembled in a modular way, now including 6 gas turbines with Rolce-Royce engines. The gas turbines are able to start up in 90 seconds and start when the batteries are no longer able to generate such a large amount of energy. Battery storage is installed with a total capacity of 20 MW and a capacity of 22 MWh. The batteries provide short-term and minor fluctuations in the power grid, and are housed in separate containers in a controlled environment to ensure their longevity.

Gas turbines are also capable of burning a certain amount of hydrogen and the project design includes the construction of a hydrolyser (hydrogen production plant from water).

Many technology companies participated in the construction of the balancing station, the main partners of the project are: Siemens, Centrax Gas Turbine, SMA, Český institut informatiky, Euroenergy, spol. S.r.o..

With the advent of renewables and the globalisation of energy grids, more and more energy storage stations with grid balancing functions will be needed. Therefore, more such projects can be expected not only in the Czech Republic, but will be built all over the world. The whole project is designed to be quickly built with scalable capacity, so similar stations can be created to meet the specific needs of a given location. For more information about the project, please visit Decci web page..