The batteries will be tested at Phase I of Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park
Dubai is preparing to trial the use of battery storage that will be linked to its massive solar park located in the desert.
Japanese ceramics company and NAS storage provider, NGK Insulators Ltd has supplied 1.2 MW of its large-scale NAS (Network Attached Storage) battery systems for a demonstration project at Phase I of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.
NGK said that the batteries, which are now being installed at the solar facility, have an aggregate storage capacity of 7.2 MWh.
The devices will be tested at the first section of the big solar park – a 13 MW plant built by U.S. thin film module manufacturer, First Solar in late 2013, according to PV-Magazine.
The NAS battery will be used to stabilise fluctuations in solar power output, plus other grid applications, including energy time-shifting and frequency control, NGK said in its statement.
The Japanese provider also claims that its NAS battery is the only storage technology that has proven operational success in the Middle East.
“The NAS battery is a high-temperature battery and thus uniquely suited for operation in locations with extreme ambient temperatures, such as the heat of the Middle East,” it said.
In a recent interview with Utilities Middle East, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, CEO & MD of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), which owns the solar park, said that battery storage needed to be tested before being fully embraced.
“We are presently installing NDK storage for about 1.2MW as an R&D (Research and Development) project. But still the storage in battery technology is not proven yet. We need time to test it and determine its effectiveness,” said Al Tayer.
