Equinor has installed the world’s first battery for offshore wind ‘Batwind’ at the first floating offshore wind farm Hywind Scotland. With Batwind in operation, it will be possible for the first time to store energy produced from an offshore wind farm.
Electricity produced at Hywind Scotland, 25 kilometers off the coast of Peterhead, will be transported via cables to an onshore substation where the 1 MW batteries are placed and connected to the grid.
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Batwind works like an energy warehouse. Equinor and Masdar will test where to build the warehouse; how big it should be and how to run the logistics. Moreover, according to a recent report by the IRENA, the costs of battery storage systems could fall by two-thirds by 2030.
Despite the fact that today there are many energy storage products and solutions in the market, battery software solutions are less developed. This project wants to teach the battery when to hold back and store electricity, and when send power to the grid, increasing value of the power, Sebastian Bringsvaerd, Development Manager for Hywind and Batwind, said.
Commenting on the battery solution, Sebastian Bringsvaerd noted:
Digitalisation is a key driver here. The more we feed Batwind’s power management system with data, the smarter it gets. In addition, Batwind can be utilised for other renewable energy sources including solar and onshore wind. We believe this will expand the market for all renewable energy sources.
