Soltech commissions energy storage for Postnord TPL – enables expansion of charging infrastructure
Soltech Energy Solutions has developed, installed and commissioned a 4 MWh energy storage facility next to Postnord TPL’s logistics property just outside Norrköping. Last year, Soltech built a 45,000 sqm solar system on the property’s roof and was then entrusted with installing a supplementary energy storage. The energy storage facility is now ready to contribute with support services to the electricity grid and at the same time enables the expansion of the property’s charging infrastructure for electric trucks.
The project is carried out together with the investment and energy company Swede Solar, and the energy storage of 4 MWh, together with the solar panels, solves several challenges for the customer’s climate efforts. The solution provides both access to renewable energy and an increased power capacity that enables fast charging of electric vehicles. Power capacity is a problem that the entire transport sector is facing as the properties’ grid connection and electricity capacity are often not sufficient for example, fast charging of electric trucks. A problem for which Soltech has now developed and installed a solution.
With the energy storage, Postnord TPL can even out power peaks, gain greater power capacity and thus be able to expand its charging infrastructure for its electric trucks. The overall solution means that they now are able to avoid the bottleneck problem that the property’s limited grid connection previously constituted.
The energy storage facility and the 6.5 MWp roof-mounted solar energy solution also contribute to the property producing more solar electricity than it consumes, which means that PostNord TPL will be a net exporter of locally produced green electricity over the whole year. Through smart control, the surplus solar electricity is exported to nearby properties or stored in the large batteries that Soltech has installed next to the property.
– The energy storage will help stabilize the electricity grid and be an important part of PostNord being able to avoid the power challenge in the electricity grid and therefore accelerate the conversion of its vehicle fleet. The solution will create great value as it solves several problems at the same time and it feels great to have been able to conduct this with Swede Solar as a long-term partner. It would surprise me if other transport and logistics companies did not glance at this type of overall solution to create energy-smart logistics properties, says Rickard Lantz, Business Development Manager at Soltech Energy Solutions.
* The power challenge is that the electricity grid sometimes has difficulty delivering enough power (the immediate amount of electricity) when demand is high, even if there is enough electricity production overall. This becomes especially important as society becomes more electrified and as production shifts towards renewable energy such as solar and wind, which are more weather-dependent. The challenge is to match supply and demand for power in real time, especially during peaks, to avoid congestion and power outages.
