- The CRM was newly introduced in 2021, and the contract for Ruien was won in the inaugural September 2021 auction.
- Aquila Clean Energy EMEA is the development arm of sustainable infrastructure investor Aquila Capital, partnering with Nippon Koei on financing, procurement, development and the BESS’ operation.
One of the most extensive battery energy storage system (BESS) projects so far in Belgium has been brought online at the site of a former coal power plant. The European subsidiary of Japanese engineering consultancy Nippon Koei announced the news today with its development partner on the project, Aquila Clean Energy EMEA. The 25MW/100MWh project is in the town of Ruien, East Flanders, on an 800MW coal-fired power station site. As with other projects of its type around the world, the BESS plant was able to leverage the thermal power plant site’s existing infrastructure, including the connection point to the Belgian high-voltage grid.
This meant the project could leapfrog the challenges of connecting to an already congested grid – something that has been a barrier to rapid energy storage and another new energy resource, deployment in many parts of the world, including the neighbouring Netherlands. An exact date for when commissioning took place was not given. Still, a release sent to media, including this site, noted that the Ruien BESS is already participating in short-term grid-balancing flexibility markets. The CRM was newly introduced in 2021, and the contract for Ruien was won in the inaugural September 2021 auction.
Yuso originated the project’s planning in 2018 and will be the optimiser for its route-to-market activities over ten years using its YusoFlex platform. Meanwhile, Aquila Clean Energy EMEA is the development arm of sustainable infrastructure investor Aquila Capital, partnering with Nippon Koei on financing, procurement, development and the BESS’ operation. Other parties working on the project included technology provider Wärtsilä and independent energy and communications engineering services company SPIE. At the same time, Nippon Koei Energy Europe delivered the project through a fully-wrapped EPC contract. Nippon Koei Energy Europe and Aquila Capital are the shared owners of the project.