Case Study: RWE Renewables, US boosts solar-plus-storage efficiency with Wärtsilä Energy Storage

RWE Renewables, US boosts solar dispatchability with Wärtsilä Energy's 40 MW / 80 MWh DC-coupled system

Wärtsilä Energy provided a solution for RWE Renewables, US, which needed to integrate a portfolio of energy assets, including 200 MW of solar generation and 40 MW of energy storage, at its Hickory Park facility in Georgia. The challenge was to deliver cost-competitive, dispatchable power that met specific day-ahead Power Purchase Agreement requirements set by the local off-taker.

Wärtsilä implemented a DC-coupled solar-plus-storage system using its GridSolv Quantum energy storage system and the GEMS Digital Energy Platform. This solution increased energy dispatchability during peak demand and provided forecast-based optimization. The results included a streamlined system design with lower costs, dynamic PPA optimization to maximize revenue, and greater system efficiencies. The project achieved a capacity of 40 MW / 80 MWh, making it one of the only facilities globally using DC-coupling on this scale.

RWE Renewables, US