Growing demand for land for energy storage
Dark doldrums show the limits of the energy transition.
With the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2045 by means of renewable energies, energy storage systems are rapidly gaining in importance, according to analyses by Aengevelt Research, e.g. to ensure the energy supply in phases of dark doldrums, such as in November last year, to cushion power peaks in energy demand or to store surplus energy generated on windy or sunny days, for example. This also increases the demand for corresponding plots of land and offers owners attractive sales opportunities.
In 2024, around 432 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity were generated in Germany. Renewable energies accounted for the largest share of this at around 59%. This means that the energy transition in Germany is on the right track.
Volatile power generation with expensive consequences.
The downside: Electricity generation from renewable energies is very volatile. For example, in November 2024, Germany was hit by a prolonged dark doldrums (no sun, no wind). For several days, wind and solar radiation remained so low that electricity generation from renewable energies plummeted.
In order to ensure supply, Germany had to resort massively to electricity imports. As a result, the price of electricity shot up to over 800 euros per megawatt hour – a level that is about ten times higher than usual. In addition, the imported electricity came mainly from coal-fired power plants and thus also had a considerable impact on the climate balance – a significant setback for the ambitious goals of the energy transition.
In addition, experts warn that a comparable bottleneck on a day with an even higher peak load than then would have pushed the electricity system to its limits.
Energy demand is increasing rapidly.
And this danger is increasing, because energy demand will rise sharply in the coming years due to the growing use of e-mobility, heat pumps and other climate-friendly technologies in industry, buildings and transport, as well as a rapidly growing number of data centres.
On the other hand, Germany aims to increase the share of renewable energies in gross electricity consumption to 80% by 2030. According to forecasts by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), the annual demand for green electricity is then expected to grow to around 600 terawatt hours (TWh) – more than doubling compared to the approximately 255 TWh from renewable energies in 2024.
The energy transition requires innovative storage technologies.
This ambitious goal requires a significant expansion of wind power and photovoltaic capacities as well as the integration of innovative storage technologies to ensure a sustainable and stable energy supply, especially against the backdrop of possible dark doldrums.
Against this background, energy storage systems are becoming massively important, especially for industrial and commercial electricity consumers, in order to create security of supply without importing expensive electricity, to cushion the necessary power peaks in terms of grid stability and electricity procurement costs, or to store surplus energy generated on windy or sunny days, for example. The magnitudes of such energy storage systems range to so-called storage power plants, which occupy entire streets or industrial areas.
Energy storage systems require suitable land.
There are several prerequisites for the construction of energy storage systems:
- Depending on the power capacity of the energy storage systems, the required plot size ranges from the four-digit (e.g. for systems with 10 megawatt hours or more) to the five-digit square metre range (e.g. for systems > with 100 megawatt hours).
- According to Aengevelt’s analyses, preferred locations for this are areas in the vicinity of energy-intensive industries as electricity consumers and solar and wind farms as energy suppliers.
- It is also necessary to connect to high-capacity energy lines and to keep a sufficient distance from residential buildings.
- However, optimal transport connections by road, rail, water or air are not a prerequisite, as is the case with large logistics facilities.
Against this background, in addition to undeveloped land on greenfield sites, unused commercial areas, disused industrial complexes, etc. in particular offer ideal conditions for energy storage, as these areas are often already connected to the necessary infrastructure such as substations and high-voltage lines, which minimizes feed-in losses and facilitates connection.
Result
Germany has set itself the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2045. As early as 2035, electricity generation is to be almost completely free of greenhouse gases. However, the dark doldrums in November last year showed that the expansion of renewable energies alone is not enough.
Solar and wind energy have the potential to cover a significant part of Germany’s electricity demand. However, the supply remains vulnerable in phases of dark doldrums without sufficient energy storage capacities. Therefore, investments in this technology are essential to ensure a stable supply even in times of low energy production and to reduce dependence on energy imports and fossil fuels. A decisive success factor here is the provision of sufficient space for the construction of energy storage facilities. This, in turn, offers owners of needs-based land attractive sales opportunities.
