Norwegian renewable energy generator Statkraft has won a tender from the German regulatory authority, Federal Network Agency, to build a solar plus battery storage project in the municipality of Zerbst, Germany.

The federal authority announced the tenders, for a total output of 400MW, in May 2023.

Statkraft had applied for a tender for a co-located solar plant with a connected battery on the site of a former gravel pit.

The solar plant will have a peak output of 47MW. The clean energy generated from the project will power 14,000 German households annually.

The co-located battery storage has been designed to have a capacity of 16MW with two hours of power storage.

Statkraft has already started the tendering process for the plant’s components. It anticipates beginning operations in the summer of 2025.

The selection of the company’s tender guarantees that the authority will buy the electricity from the project at a market premium.

Statkraft German wind, solar and storage development head Claus Urbanke stated: “The construction of co-location facilities using solar energy and battery storage is part of our ambitious growth targets in Germany.”

“We are currently growing strongly and in the future, we want to commission between 300 and 500 MW of wind, solar and storage capacity per year.”

The company has taken advantage of regulations that will only apply for the current year of 2023 in making the bid. The regulations permit the amount bid for solar systems to be more than 20MW.

In May 2023, Statkraft and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) won an auction for a 500MW offshore wind project in Ireland.

The North Irish Sea Array (NISA) offshore wind farm will be located off the east coast near the city of Dublin and the counties of Louth and Meath. The project is expected to generate power for half a million Irish homes and businesses.