– Former Würgassen nuclear power plant in NRW to house a 120MW/280MWh BESS project
– Westphalia Weser investing €92 million in the project, set to come online in H2 2026
– Germany aiming for significant increase in grid-scale energy storage capacity by 2037, with recent government release of Electricity Storage Strategy
In North Rhine-Westphalia, the former Würgassen nuclear power plant, decommissioned in 1994, will be repurposed for a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project. This project will utilize existing grid infrastructure including a transformer and power lines, which can often be difficult and time-consuming to obtain for new projects. Westphalia Weser will invest €92 million in the project, which is expected to come online in the second half of 2026.
The decision to repurpose the site for the BESS project came after plans for a central storage facility for low- and medium-level radioactive nuclear waste in Würgassen were rejected by the Federal Environment Ministry. This project aligns with the energy transition goals of the region and will help increase the stability of the grid’s energy supply.
The BESS project at Würgassen, with a capacity of 120MW/280MWh, will be one of the largest in Germany. Other large projects are also in the works, with several 300MW/600MWh projects planned by developer Kyon Energy and other companies. Germany currently has 1GW/1GWh of front-of-meter grid-scale energy storage online, a number that is expected to increase significantly by 2037 according to a recent report from GEEC.
The government’s release of an Electricity Storage Strategy this year has put energy storage on the political agenda for the first time, signaling a significant step forward in the development of grid-scale energy storage in Germany.