“From the outside, both stations look like many others that we’ve installed over the past few years. The innovations, however, are found inside the grey concrete shell,” explains Danilo Rabitz, planning engineer at ZEV. For the first time, the company uses an adjustable substation transformer to control its local power grids. In essence, a transformer converts the electrical voltage between the medium-voltage grid - the level at which the current is distributed - and the low-voltage level up to the consumer. “What is special about the adjustable transformer is that we can control the transformation ratio during operation. Compare it to switching gears on a bicycle without stopping the pedals,” Rabitz continues.
The main advantage of this new technology is that more electricity can be provided from renewable installations or from energy storage units, without unduly raising or lowering the voltage on the power grid. “Even with more solar panels on the roofs or storage units in the basement, the voltage on the grid has to remain constant. That is a prerequisite for the success of the energy transition. In the best case, the customer should not notice what happens in the grid,” says André Hentschel, CTO at ZEV.
The adjustable transformer is operated in the scope of research work for the WindNODE project. The same is true for the new battery storage units, which the crane has placed right next to the transformer. Even though not all storage components have been installed, the 30 battery modules, with a total storage volume of 87 kWh, should be a decisive addition for the operation of the transformer. André Hentschel said the following about the storage unit: “With the batteries, we will be even more capable of compensating grid fluctuations through the short temporary storage of excess and not immediately used current, e.g. from solar panels. We will reinject it into the grid to compensate for short consumption spikes, when many consumers activate their appliances.”
The innovative storage unit, which should form a buffer between electricity generation and consumption, is supplied by SenerTec Center Sachsen e.K., which is also involved in the research project. The project is planned in close coordination with the Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau, which is the leading coordinator for WindNODE research in Zwickau. In addition to the station that was installed today, more battery storage units will be installed in selected residential blocks in Marienthal in the months to come. As such, ZEV wants to study different scenarios of independent power supply. In the course of this project, the Zwickau district will also be equipped with additional information and measurement technology.
In order to show the innovative character of the new station on the outside as well, ZEV asked Zwickau graffiti artist Swen Gerisch to design the building envelope. In the coming days, the various project components such as battery storage units, solar installations or electromobility will be visualised in the WindNODE colours. When all work has been completed, the current station on the opposite side of the Bertolt-Brecht-Straße will be taken out of service and demolished.
Contact details
Zwickauer Energieversorgung GmbH
Patrick Hoppe
Public Relations
Bahnhofstraße 4
08056 Zwickau
Telephone: 0375 3541-108
Fax: 0375 3541-105
Patrick.Hoppe@avoid-unrequested-mailszev-energie.de
www.zev-energie.de
