Batteries keep office building open due to grid congestion

Office building De Walvis near Amsterdam Central Station may have had to be disconnected from the power grid because it has a connection of only 137 kW, while it consumes 200 kW during peaks. Due to grid congestion, it could not get extra power from the energy company. By using a battery, these problems were circumvented and it can remain open.

De Walvis has a BREAAM certificate, which means that it was built sustainably and is also managed sustainably. For example, the building is gas-free, has solar panels, a heat pump, a WTW installation and charging stations. The very fact that De Walvis generates its own energy ensures that batteries are very suitable for use. This allows you to get more out of green energy. In this case, a very nice side effect is that they also reduce the peak load on the grid.

Inside or outside

It was still a problem that insurance companies often require batteries to be placed outside. ‘Because De Walvis is in the city centre, it is not possible to get a permit to place the battery systems outside’, says Patrick Meeldijk, technical real estate manager at the Maarsen Group that manages the building. ‘But we have now found a party that allows the batteries to be placed inside. The batteries have been placed in the basement of the building.’