The name might sound silly, but the project to install a 1MWh lithium battery storage system to harness wind power off the Scottish coast is anything but.
The ‘Batwind’ pilot system will see the battery connected to wind turbines located 25 km offshore in the North Sea to improve efficiency and lower costs for offshore wind.
Suppliers for the project are yet to be chosen, said a spokesman.
It is being developed in co-operation with Scottish universities and suppliers, under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Statoil, the Scottish Government, the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult and Scottish Enterprise.
The pilot will also provide a technological and commercial foundation for the rolling out Batwind in full-scale offshore wind farms.
Stephen Bull, Statoil’s senior vice president for offshore wind, said:
“With Batwind, we can optimise the energy system from wind park to grid. Battery storage represents a new application in our offshore wind portfolio.”
The battery is due to be installed in late 2018 as part of Hywind Scotland, which includes five floating wind turbines off Aberdeenshire. It should start electricity production in late 2017.
Andrew Jamieson, chief executive of ORE Catapult, said: “Innovations such as the integration of battery storage technologies are another key element in the future energy mix and will enable a greater penetration of renewable technologies in Scotland and support the development of next generation ideas such as floating wind.”
