50Hertz and EVH are developing a power-to-heat (PtH) project to utilise excess wind energy in the north-east of Germany.
The 40MW PtH unit is being built with an investment of up to €15m from 50Hertz and is expected to be operational and supplying heat to the city of Halle by the end of the year.
The move will help remove excess capacity from the grid during times of over-production from local wind farms. When this happens, wind turbines are generally halted to prevent damage to power lines and substations, with wind farms operators receiving damages as compensation.
Dirk Biermann, Chief Markets and System Operations Officer at 50Hertz, noted: “The ‘using instead of curtailing’ principle makes economic and ecological sense, as it allows the potential of renewable energy to be exploited more fully.
“Our 50Hertz System Control in Neuenhagen near Berlin will be able to deploy the PtH unit from the control centre of EVH, so that more renewable energy can be integrated into the energy system and at the same time remove bottlenecks in the electricity grid.
“The Halle region in the south of Saxony-Anhalt offers good conditions for such projects, as it has a high supply of wind power.”