According to foreign media reports, Alfen, a Dutch energy storage and smart grid solution provider, plans to provide energy storage systems for a 24MW/54MWh energy storage project deployed by British renewable energy developer Centrica Business Solutions in Belgium. This is the first battery energy storage system deployed by Centrica Business Solutions outside the UK market.
Alfen Company will provide its "TheBattery" battery energy storage system for the Oostende battery energy storage project, which will be launched and operational in the first quarter of 2024. Belgium plans to close 5 of its 7 nuclear power plants by 2025, and this battery energy storage system will participate in the capacity market operated by grid operator Elia in Belgium.
This project is the first battery energy storage project deployed by Centrica Business Solutions outside the UK, and will be deployed at a production plant operated by Austander Basic Chemical Company. The battery energy storage system has a continuous discharge time of 2.25 hours.
Although this is the first energy storage project deployed by Centrica Business Solutions outside the UK, the company has been active in the Belgian market through an optimization transaction, mainly providing energy solutions to major clients.
Centrica Business Solutions is optimizing the 20MWh EStor Lux battery storage system, which is currently the largest battery storage system in operation in the UK. In addition, it also optimized a smaller 2.75MW battery energy storage project operated by Google in the Saint Ghislain data center, both of which were provided by Fluence with battery energy storage systems.
In recent years, Belgium has been one of the most active energy storage markets on the European continent. The country has recently launched two 100MWh battery energy storage systems, one of which was deployed by developer Corsica Sole, and the other by Nippon Koei and Aquila Clean Energy.
French utility company Engie recently revealed that it plans to deploy three battery energy storage projects in Belgium, with a total installed capacity of 380MW
