Vattenfall offers balancing power from a German offshore wind farm for first time
200 megawatts from the Veja Mate wind farm in the North Sea will help stabilise the grid – according to Vattenfall, the largest balancing capacity from offshore wind to date.
Symbolic image · Photo: Capmat007 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Energy company Vattenfall is marketing balancing power from a German offshore wind farm for the first time. It is offering 200 MW from the 416 MW Veja Mate wind farm in the North Sea, which is pre-qualified to provide balancing power in the control area of grid operator TenneT. According to Vattenfall, this is the largest balancing capacity offered from offshore wind to date.
Veja Mate lies about 95 km northwest of Borkum and has 67 turbines. Its output is equivalent to the demand of 450,000 households. It is owned by a consortium of Commerz Real, Ingka Group, KGAL and wpd invest, with Vattenfall as direct marketer of its power.
Grid frequency must be kept at 50 hertz, and balancing power is activated when unexpected fluctuations occur. Vattenfall already provides such services through pumped storage plants with a combined 2.7 GW and is seeking pre-qualification for further offshore wind farms, solar parks paired with large batteries and third-party storage. “The marketing of control energy from offshore wind is a strong signal,” said Vattenfall's Christian Sdralek.