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Senator Westhagemann dedicates storage control power plant at Curslack wind farm Another milestone reached in the NEW 4.0 Project
The northern Germany energy transition has achieved another milestone: At his first official appearance on November 9, Hamburg's new Senator for Economics, Transport and Innovation, Michael Westhagemann, until recently chairman of the board of the development association of the Renewable Energy Hamburg Cluster (EEHH e.V.), commissioned the storage control power plant at the Curslack wind farm in Hamburg-Bergedorf.
Prime mover for the energy transition in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein
Senator Westhagemann proudly pointed to the innovative power of northern Germany: “Our region has the absolute will to implement the energy transition. In this way, we are creating a prospect for Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein that not only includes environment and climate protection, but is also an innovation engine for our economy. It brings with it completely new approaches to the generation, transport and storage of energy.“ He also called on federal authorities to change energy laws to enable even greater innovation.
Core element – battery storage system
The heart of the system involves connecting the five wind turbines of the wind farm with a new battery storage system, which is directly connected to the wind farm grid. The lithium-ion battery storage facility, built by Vattenfall in cooperation with the Competence Center for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency (CC4E) at the HAW Hamburg and Nordex Group, can accept electricity from the adjacent CC4E wind farm and thereby increase its efficiency.
This storage control power plant, part of the major “NEW 4.0 – Norddeutsche EnergieWende” (Northern German Energy Transition 4.0) project, was conceived to conduct practical research into opportunities for the system integration of renewable energies. Coupling wind farm and battery storage is intended to optimise the supply of electricity from the wind farm and adapt it to the needs of customers. This is intended to avoid shutting down wind turbines in the event of grid overload to the greatest extent possible. The storage control power plant consists of 24 batteries using the latest BMW technology. Batteries like this are also used in electric vehicles. The battery storage system has an output of 720 kW and a storage capacity of 792 kilowatt hours.
Emission-free energy supply
“With this plant, we are making a contribution to relieving the pressure on the electricity grids in Northern Germany and taking a step forward in the supply of energy without fossil fuels. Based on the results from this project, we can continue to develop intelligent storage solutions for wind farms with the aim of optimally marketing the energy from wind farms even under future conditions,“ explains Dr Oliver Weinmann, Managing Director of Vattenfall Innovation GmbH and member of the NEW 4.0 project steering group.
“The storage control power plant is one of 25 demonstrators in the NEW 4.0 project with which we want to test innovative solutions for the energy system of the future under real conditions. In the future, as producers, wind turbines will have to react more flexibly and intelligently to the requirements for a stable system and also compensate for very short-term fluctuations,“ says Professor Werner Beba, Head of CC4E and Project Coordinator NEW 4.0.
About Astrid Dose
Talking, writing, organising – and having lots of fun! This is what my days at the EEHH Cluster look like. I’ve been responsible for public relations and marketing for the Hamburg industry network since 2011. I studied History and English and have a soft spot for technical issues.
