Norwegian energy firm Equinor and Abu-Dhabi-based Masdar have unveiled a Younicos battery system in Scotland as the “world’s first” to be connected to an offshore floating wind farm.
The one-megawatt system, comprising two Younicos lithium-ion Y Cubes in modular battery containers, have been installed at the Hywind onshore substation in Peterhead.
Younicos, a subsidiary of Scotland-based power equipment group Aggreko, said the ‘Batwind’ integrated energy storage system project “marks the first in-the-field collaboration” between Younicos and its parent company. Both provided power both during the installation of the battery system and of the wind farm itself.
“The purpose of the Batwind storage solution is to explore how a battery can help increase the value of electricity produced, and how a battery can best integrate the wind farm into grid,” Younicos said.
Younicos managing director Karim Wazni said: “We’ve equipped Batwind with our intelligent Y Q software, which ensures that the battery ‘learns’ the optimal storage conditions. Our software tells the battery when to store electricity and for how long, and when and how much to inject back onto the grid.”
The Batwind and Hywind projects are collaborative partnerships between Equinor (formerly Statoil) and Masdar, operated by Equinor on behalf of Masdar.
