Offshore wind giant Dong Energy has become the first to plug an offshore wind farm into a battery system to store power to be used as needed. The world-first hybrid system has powered up on the Merseyside coast to store electricity generated from the first phase of Dong Energy’s 90 megawatt (MW) Burbo Bank wind farm in order to help to balance the frequency of the power grid. The new 2MW battery system helps to combat criticism that renewable power could lead to flickering light bulbs, or even blackouts, by disrupting the normal power grid frequency of around 50 hertz. Richard Smith, National Grid’s head of networks, said the system operator plans to call on Dong Energy to release electricity into the grid to help stabilise the frequency.The company’s share price bounced up almost 3pc to DKK305 on the Copenhagen exchange this morning after HSBC lifted its rating for the renewables developer ahead of an expected boom in the sector. The bank said recent subsidy auctions which have resulted in lower than expected winning bids are likely to spark interest within countries along the Baltic coast and will deepen the commitment within other major markets.
Telegraph 7th June 2017 read more »