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Two pioneering hybrid renewables projects in Germany and the Philippines aim to design out intermittency
1/10/2025
News
Two renewables projects on opposite sides of the globe are showcasing the next step in integrating multiple generation and/or storage technologies to provide a more stable source of electricity. In Gundelsheim, Bavaria, EnBW has launched the initial stage of what will be Germany’s first ever energy park to combine solar, wind and battery storage. Meanwhile, in Batangas, Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation (CREC) has energised the Philippines’ first solar baseload power plant – a 197 MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) farm paired with a 320 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS).
German utility EnBW has commissioned the initial phase of what will be the country’s first ever project to combine a solar park, wind turbines and battery storage systems in one location.
Based in Gundelsheim in southern Germany, the first phase of the energy park comprises a 58 MW solar farm, with 110,000 PV modules extending over 55 hectares. It is to be coupled with a BESS that will store excess electricity and feed it back into the national grid when needed. Two wind turbines are also to be installed.
The BESS will use batteries recycled from electric cars, which will ‘work in tandem with a new kind of sodium-ion storage system’, reports the energy park operator EnBW. It will have a capacity of around 1 MWh, ‘making it the largest installed battery featuring this technology in Europe,’ says the company.
‘The lithium-ion batteries from the vehicles are suitable for fast charging and discharging, while the sodium-ion batteries are renowned for their stable and long-lasting output as well as the wide availability of the raw materials needed to produce them,’ comments EnBW. It says that its partner Fraunhofer ISE is currently conducting research into ‘how the technologies interact under real operating conditions’ and is developing an energy management system ‘to ensure optimal coupling of the technologies’.
Once fully commissioned, the 64-hectare energy park will be able to generate enough electricity to power 30,000 households annually, says EnBW.
Hybrid first for the Philippines
CREC’s Citicore Solar (CS) Batangas 1 project is located in the municipality of Tuy, in Batangas province. The hybrid power plant will store surplus solar energy during peak hours and dispatch it back to the national grid during evening demand, helping to balance variable electricity demand and intermittent supply from renewables.
The BESS is powered by multiple units of Chinese company Sungrow’s PowerTitan 2.0 modular all-in-one AC-DC block design. It integrates a pre-assembled, liquid-cooled 5 MWh battery with a 2.5 MW transformer into a standard 20-foot container. Said to be a major space-saver for BESS developers, the design also ensures simple integration and reduces installation time, according to Sungrow.
‘Our Citicore Solar Batangas 1 is the first in the Philippines to prove that solar can be true baseload power. This is a huge step forward in the country’s renewable energy transition,’ said CREC President and CEO Oliver Tan.
The Philippines has a target of 35% renewable energy by 2030. ‘With 1.5 GWh of battery energy storage systems in place, we are prepared to replicate this breakthrough starting in Batangas,’ continued Tan.
The company plans to have 5 GW of installed renewables by 2030. It says it is on track to have its first 1 GW in operation by the end of this year, coming from 11 solar farms located in the provinces of Pangasinan, Pampanga, Batangas, Quezon and Negros Occidental. Three of these facilities will be equipped with a total of 760 MWh of BESS. According to CREC, once energised, the 11 plants will cut carbon emissions by nearly 2.8bn t/y and generate enough electricity annually to power approximately 800,000 homes.
CREC says its second GW of renewable energy will include onshore wind, as well as solar.
The CS Batangas 1 solar baseload power plant in the Philippines comprises a 197 MWp solar PV farm coupled with a 320 MWh BESS
Photo: Sungrow
