Netherlands: strong sustainability drive for Roompot thanks to a battery energy storage system from SPIE and Elfa

Breda, 10 November 2023 – SPIE Nederland, the Dutch subsidiary of SPIE, the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications, has made holiday parks provider Roompot’s objective of creating a sustainable energy system for its new resort at Brouwersdam a reality. Integrated solar panels and an innovative battery storage unit ensure that solar energy can be used without placing a greater burden on the electricity grid.

Roompot Beach Resort Brouwerdam’s 83 cottages are equipped with integrated solar panels. To ensure optimum use of the solar energy produced, SPIE installed a central battery energy storage system (BESS) at the new vacation resort. This overcame two challenges: how to capture solar energy that is generated and not used by the park in an area where feeding surplus electricity back into the grid is not permitted, and how to reduce peak energy demand issues.

Residents of the vacation homes consume most electricity in the morning and evening, when they turn on the air conditioning or heating, shower and use kitchen appliances. Solar panels on the roofs feed generated surplus energy into the BESS during the day, when consumption is at its lowest. Stored energy is used to meet peak demand by topping up the grid.

Tim Bogaert, a work engineer at SPIE who took part in the project, was given free rein by his supervisor to explore new possibilities. “During the research and consulting process, we looked at the actual energy requirements and intended use of such a battery unit. Together with the manufacturer Elfa, we chose a battery unit with a storage capacity of 264 kilowatt-hours.” The BESS is in fact a small shipping container, three cubic metres in size and consisting of several drawers of batteries. Tim added: “The system can be fully charged and emptied around 5,000 times and has a lifespan of approximately five years, after which it still maintains 75% of its rated capacity.”

The battery storage unit can be connected to weather forecasts to use energy even more efficiently, and re-charged from the regular electricity grid when sunlight levels are insufficient. In the future, it will be possible to use the battery unit for peak shaving, and as a transformer if the resort expands and the current one is not heavy enough. An important step towards sustainability and reducing peak loads on the electricity grid.