RWE to build a massive 1.1 GWh energy storage facility in the Netherlands. The project will help solve grid congestion

German energy company RWE has made a final investment decision on the construction of a large-scale energy storage facility with a power output of 400 MW and a capacity of 1.1 GWh. The installation will be built at the site of the Moerdijk gas-fired power plant in the Netherlands. Its main purpose will be to relieve congestion on the local power grid.

208 battery containers at the gas-fired power plant site

The project will be developed next to the 150 kV Moerdijk-Noord substation, located south of Rotterdam. The site currently hosts a 426 MW gas-fired power plant and a small pilot battery storage facility (7.5 MW / 11 MWh).

The new facility will be around 100 times larger. The system, with a discharge duration of 2.75 hours, will consist of 208 lithium-ion battery containers. Commissioning is scheduled for the second quarter of 2028.

Relieving congestion on the TenneT grid and supporting offshore wind farms

Dutch transmission system operator TenneT is facing a major shortage of available grid connection capacity. RWE’s new battery storage facility will be developed under a special capacity management agreement.

The installation will provide several tangible benefits to the power system:

• Reducing grid bottlenecks – the battery will absorb surplus electricity in the North Brabant region, freeing up grid capacity for entities currently on the waiting list.
• Storing offshore wind energy – the facility will store surplus electricity generated by a nearby 795 MW offshore wind farm being developed by RWE and TotalEnergies.
• Synthetic inertia – thanks to advanced grid-forming inverters, the system will provide advanced grid services and instant power reserves for the European electricity system.