At the beginning of 2026, when Europe's energy transition was facing the dual challenges of intermittent power supply and public skepticism, a small town in Brandenburg, Germany, gave a different answer. After two years of patient communication, renewable energy giant ENERTRAG has finally brought the large-scale energy storage project Bertikow, with a capacity of 200MW/800MWh, to fruition. This is not just a technical project, but more like a profound practice of energy democracy - the construction party replaces persuasion with listening, transforms potential social resistance into community support with an open and inclusive attitude. When the "avoidance of neighbors" sentiment repeatedly becomes a stumbling block for energy projects worldwide, the "second communication" story co written by German engineers and community residents provides new inspiration for the development of new energy worldwide.

Cracking the bottleneck of wind and solar energy consumption

The wind and photovoltaic installed capacity in Brandenburg is huge, but the power grid's consumption capacity is often stretched thin. Especially in seasons with abundant wind energy, a large amount of "green electricity" is abandoned due to the inability to be transmitted in a timely manner, resulting in huge energy waste and economic losses. The core mission of the Bertikow project is to become a key 'stabilizer' for this energy rich region.

Unlike early energy storage projects that mainly relied on 1-2 hours of configuration, this project innovatively adopts a long-term energy storage solution that lasts for 4 hours. This means that it not only can smooth out short-term fluctuations within the day, but also has the ability to transfer a large amount of electricity across time periods (such as from the midday photovoltaic peak to the evening electricity peak). Its energy storage capacity of up to 800MWh is equivalent to providing stable electricity for over 160000 German households for up to 4 hours, greatly enhancing the grid's acceptance and flexibility of renewable energy.

Two year system preparation

The success of any large-scale energy project cannot be achieved without solid infrastructure preparation in the early stages. Even before the project was officially approved, a two-year 'silent project' had quietly begun. ENERTRAG has collaborated with German power grid operator 50Hertz to comprehensively modernize and upgrade the substation in Bertikow, where the project is located.

This upgrade project is like building dedicated "highways" and "interchanges" in advance for the upcoming energy storage behemoth. By enhancing the capacity, automation level, and grid connection interface capability of the substation, we ensure that the future 800MWh of electricity can be safely and efficiently injected into the German main grid, and receive precise scheduling from the grid. This strategy of "putting food and supplies first before the troops move" reflects Germany's rigor and foresight in energy system engineering, clearing the most critical technical obstacles for the final smooth grid connection of the project.

From 'avoiding neighbors' to' welcoming arms'

The most informative aspect of the Bertikow project is not its technical specifications, but its process of obtaining social licenses. At the beginning of the project, local residents were full of doubts and resistance towards the safety risks, environmental impact, visual landscape, and noise issues of large-scale energy storage facilities.

Faced with resistance, ENERTRAG did not choose to forcefully push forward or rely on high-level permits, but actively pressed the "restart button" and initiated a deep dialogue that it called the "second communication". The company has thoroughly disclosed technical documents, safety assessment reports, and environmental impact data, and organized multiple rounds of small-scale face-to-face discussions, allowing engineers to have direct conversations with residents and answer questions one by one. Keywords: Energy Storage Latest News, Energy Storage New Energy News

More importantly, the project innovatively introduced the 'Joint Power Plant Dividend Mechanism'. This mechanism directly feeds back some of the profits generated from the operation of energy storage power stations to local communities, which can be used to support the construction of public facilities, reduce residents' electricity costs, or establish community development funds. This transforms residents' identity from passive "risk takers" to active "benefit sharers". In the end, frank communication and practical benefit sharing mechanisms resolved the differences, and the local council voted in favor based on sufficient information and consideration of community welfare. This process proves that in the energy transition, technological solutions are equally important as social solutions, and true sustainability is built on the basis of trust and win-win. (This article is from the official website of Jian Dao www.seetao.com. Reproduction without permission is prohibited, otherwise it will be prosecuted. Please indicate Jian Dao website+original link when reprinting.) Jian Dao website energy storage column editor/Gao Xue