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A hybrid power plant capable of storing electricity was inaugurated on Tuesday in Öskü, Veszprém county in western Hungary, which – unique to Central Europe – can store solar energy for six hours.
Attila Steiner, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Policy, emphasized that the plant fits well into the government’s energy policy. The aim is to produce as much green energy as possible and to store it for as long as possible.
With its six-hour storage capacity, the solar power plant in Öskü is unique in Central Europe,
he noted.
The State Secretary recalled that the Ministry of Innovation and Technology set a target of 6,000 megawatts for solar power generation by 2030, years ago, but this has already been reached this year, raising the target to 12,000 megawatts.
The politician said that the country has 20-30 megawatts of storage capacity, which they want to increase by 460 megawatts from a HUF 62 billion (EUR 158 million) subsidy program, which is roughly the production capacity of a unit at the Paks nuclear power plant. “The aim is to provide Hungarian consumers with energy at the most competitive prices possible, and it is important that we are not only users but also producers of new technologies,” he underlined.
Péter Mihalovics, chairman of the board of Ideona, the company implementing the facility, stressed that the energy storage facility, built with a budget of HUF 1.5 billion (EUR 3.8 million), consists of seven container units. The vanadium-based technology used here has a life cycle of 25 years.
The company will develop solar parks worth HUF 40 billion (EUR 102 million) by the end of 2026,
he added.
Péter Ovádi, Member of Parliament for the region (Fidesz-KDNP), stressed that the development of the region will increase tax revenues, contributing to further investments.
Péter Kaderják, representing the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), said that the university’s staff are analysing the operation of the facility, and will focus specifically on the development of energy storage in the next five years.
Zsolt Csillag, Chancellor of the University of Pannonia, recalled that the institution has been offering courses in green energy and nature conservation for decades. The efficient energy storage that the new investment will bring is important for commercial and security of supply reasons, he concluded.
Via MTI; Featured image via Facebook/Ovádi Péter