Switzerland has turned on its €2 billion ($2.04 billion) water battery, called Nant de Drance, located nearly 600 meters (2,000 feet) beneath the Swiss Alps, in July.
The hydroelectric power station generates energy with water, and the mega-battery can store the energy. Robert Gleitz, delegate of the Nant de Drance board of directors, said in multiple media outlets that with just the flip of a switch, the plant can switch from storage to electricity supply.
Nant de Drance returns about 80 percent of the electricity it receives to the grid and stores about 20 hours of backup power. It can store as much energy as 400,000 electric car batteries, or 20 million kilowatt-hours (kWh), which could play a vital role in stabilizing Europe's electricity grid as the continent transitions to renewable energy, Gleitz said. This makes it one of the most powerful stations in Europe.
“With a fixed-speed turbine, you have to wait for the plant to spin at just the right speed
