Mainstream Renewable Power (MRP) is to test 2MW of energy storage at a 10MW wind farm in Ireland.
MRP will assess the commercial availability of integrating wind generation with flywheels, synchronous condensers and batteries as well as operating the system in the Irish Single Electricity Market. The Irish state agency Enterprise Ireland will assist the “Wind-Storage Hybrid Study”.
The hybrid system is designed to store electricity generated by the wind farm and aims to reduce the need for expensive spinning reserves that accrue when energy needs to be balanced because of electricity spikes.
“Essentially the system aims to match supply and demand more closely; something we can’t do right now with wind and solar power,” said MRP’s head of technology Joe Corbett
“The benefits of wind power are widely accepted; it’s a free fuel source, it’s good for the environment and it will never run out. Its biggest technical challenge is it’s only available when the wind blows. The aim of this new hybrid system is to change that,” he added.
“Storage solutions will be a key enabler for the decarbonised power systems of the future and this assessment should provide valuable data to support appropriate investment,” said Kevin Donnelly from Enterprise Ireland.
The study is set to start in September this year.