A 5 MW battery storage facility and the new power capacitor in Slovenia are part of the smart grids solutions within the Sincro.Grid project with Croatia.

Sincro.Grid said construction works have started in Pekre near Maribor on the installation of a battery system with a capacity of 5 MW and storage time of five hours, translating to 25 MWh. The European project of common interest (PCI), added to the list five years ago, includes plans for another unit of the same size and also in Slovenia. Last month an energy capacitor with fixed power or reactive power output of 100 MVAr – megavolt-amperes was finished in substation Divača near the border with Italy.

The endeavor was launched by the Slovenian and Croatian transmission system operators ELES and HOPS, respectively, and distribution system operators SODO and HEP ODS. They are implementing sophisticated technologies to use the electricity grid in the two countries more effectively and work in synergy.

Flexibility sources

With the expansion of renewable energy, transmission requires flexibility sources for balancing and stability. Namely, production in solar and wind power plants depends on the weather so it can change rapidly.

The smart grids project was established by the Slovenian and Croatian transmission and distribution system operators

The international project for smart grids will bring five high tech devices for controlling the voltage profiles in the system. Batteries increase flexibility and energy capacitors inject reactive power and boost voltage when it weakens.

Sincro.Grid to develop control center, dynamic thermal rating system

Within Sincro.Grid, a dynamic thermal rating system will be established to assess operating limits and better utilize transmission lines and transformers. A virtual cross-border control center will optimize losses and improve supervision and forecasting of electricity generation from renewables.

The mechanically switched capacitor with damping network or MSCDN in Divača is the first device for voltage regulation with capacitive characteristics in Slovenia. Engineers are now working on the 400 kV field there and the system is scheduled to come online in December.