Helen's Lakiakangas electricity storage has a successful first year of operation — weather-dependent energy production requires an increasingly flexible energy system
One of Finland’s largest electricity storages, the Lakiakangas facility operated by Helen, was commissioned in November last year. Through the HelenFlex platform, the electricity storage, offering electricity to the reserve market, achieved promising results in terms of trading and performance during its first year, reaching 98 per cent efficiency. Solutions such as the electricity storage in Lakiakangas help to balance both the electricity system and consumer prices, which have experienced major fluctuations in recent years due to the sharp increase in weather-dependent energy production.
The 5 MW electricity storage with 10 MWh capacity, operating in connection with Helen’s Lakiakangas 3 wind farm, enables multimarket trading and supports the balance of the electricity system by participating in several reserve markets at the same time. The reserve markets are divided according to their purpose into a frequency stabilising reserve aiming to maintain a constant balance of the electricity system and a frequency restoration system that is needed to restore the frequency to the normal range, among other things.
Using electricity produced by the Lakiakangas wind farm, the storage is mainly used in Fingrid’s reserve market to secure the balance of the electricity system. When there is a sudden and unexpected change in electricity supply, the distribution of stored electricity can support the entire Nordic electricity system, of which the storage operates as a component. The storage can also be used in a variety of ways for Helen’s own energy management needs.
During its first year of operation, the electricity warehouse, one of the largest in Finland, achieved an excellent 98% efficiency in terms of trading and performance.
Weather-dependent energy production is difficult to predict and requires increasing flexibility in the electricity system, where production and consumption must be in balance at all times. The role of electricity storage facilities in supporting the green transition is becoming increasingly important in balancing the electricity system as weather-dependent production capacity increases sharply.
"The development of an adaptive flexibility market is crucial in balancing the strong fluctuations in electricity prices, as weather-dependent energy production requires an increasingly flexible energy system. Right now, we are in the middle of this transition, taking crucial steps. The success of the Lakiakangas electricity storage in the market is a clear indication that we are on the right track in building a market-based green transition, where flexibility plays a key role," says Helen’s CEO Olli Sirkka.
The electricity storage uses the HelenFlex control and optimisation platform developed by Helen, which monitors the frequency of the electricity network, identifies disturbances in the electricity system and discharges the electricity storage as required at any given time. At the same time, it aims to optimise the electricity supply from the storage in order to obtain the best return from the current flexibility market situation. Currently, the electricity storage is operating as a frequency-controlled reserve, but further development for other markets and multi-battery support is under way.
"HelenFlex is one of Helen’s significant development steps towards automated and algorithm-based trading. A digital technology platform for automating the optimisation, trading and operation of the energy system is the key to tapping into the full potential of flexibility, and the broader development of capabilities across Helen’s entire portfolio based on the results obtained through HelenFlex is under way," says Sirkka.
Helen has also invested in a 43 MW industrial-scale electricity storage currently under construction in Nurmijärvi, which will be completed in the spring of 2025. In addition, Helen is building a 5 MW electricity storage at the Lohja solar park. The storage will be completed in 2025.
The power of the Lakiakangas electricity storage is 5 MW and its capacity is 10 MWh.