China Energy Storage Network News: According to foreign media reports, Finnish utility manufacturer and energy developer Vantaa Energy will start construction of a seasonal thermal energy storage facility with a total energy storage capacity of approximately 90GWh in Vantaa, Finland next year. The facility can use electricity and waste heat from renewable energy sources to heat water stored in underground caves to 140°C.
Vantaa Energy recently stated that it has selected AFRY, an engineering, design and consulting group, and YIT, a Finnish urban development and construction company, as project partners. The development and planning of the project will begin this summer, and construction will begin next fall. It is expected to be operational in 2026.
The project is called Vantaa Energy Cavern Thermal Energy Storage (VECTES) and will use a bedrock cave about 60 meters underground for energy storage. According to the project overview document issued by Vantaa Energy, storing water in a lower location means using the natural pressure of groundwater to prevent evaporation, even at temperatures above the boiling point.
The main energy storage chamber consists of four caverns each with a size of about 220,000 cubic meters or more, with a total space of about 1 million cubic meters. The purpose is to use the energy stored in the facility to replace natural gas heating facilities, which is equivalent to the annual heat consumption of a medium-sized town in Finland. The facility can use solar power generation facilities, wind power generation and geothermal energy, and building waste heat to provide heat.
An environmental impact assessment (EIA) report prepared by the Finnish company AFRY is expected to be published in October, and a public meeting will be held shortly thereafter. AFRY will also be responsible for the main design, geotechnical and rock design, structural engineering and process engineering of the energy storage project. AFRY, YIT and Vantaa Energy will jointly carry out other planning and implementation, including determining target costs and incentive plans.
Vantaa Energy will decide how to invest directly in the project and begin the transition to the implementation phase after the initial development phase. YIT stated that the contract value awarded to YIT and AFRY is approximately 75 million euros ($88.95 million), and the investment in the development phase is approximately 1.6 million euros. It is expected that the implementation contract will be signed in the fall of 2022 before construction starts.
Vantaa Energy's goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, and its mid-term goal is to phase out fossil fuels by 2026. The VECTES project should help reduce the company's peak load in winter and is considered the most important step in achieving these goals. Vantaa Energy stated that it will stop using coal-fired power generation facilities in 2022, which will be achieved seven years earlier than Finland`s energy policy goals, and will phase out peat power generation facilities within this year.
Jukka Toivonen, General Manager of Vantaa Energy, said, [Seasonal thermal storage and energy storage facilities are a key part of our innovative investment plan. It combines new technological solutions to enable us to phase out fossil fuel power generation facilities as soon as possible.
We have chosen a flexible alliance model to implement demanding design and construction projects. I believe that together with our partners YIT and AFRY, we will be able to effectively implement the project and achieve the goals set for it. "
He said that Vantaa Energy is also considering building a natural gas power plant with an installed capacity of 10MW, which will be put into operation in 2025 and will produce carbon-neutral synthetic methane from the captured carbon dioxide and green hydrogen. The company and technology supplier Wärtsilä signed a cooperation agreement to carry out the pre-engineering and development of the project. Wärtsilä said in mid-June that the two parties are negotiating investment decisions.
