Vattenfall has begun marketing balancing power from an offshore wind farm in Germany for the first time. The move enables renewable electricity to contribute to grid stability, as offshore wind generation can be relatively consistent and predictable. The electricity comes from the Veja Mate offshore wind farm, located around 95 kilometres north-west of Borkum in the North Sea.
The wind farm has a total capacity of 416 MW and comprises 67 wind turbines. It is owned by a consortium of Commerz Real, Ingka Group, KGAL Group and wpd invest. Vattenfall acts as the direct marketer, placing and optimising the electricity generated on the power market.
Electricity grids must maintain a frequency of 50 hertz despite weather-related fluctuations in generation. Transmission system operators use balancing power to address deviations between forecast and actual electricity generation and maintain the balance between supply and demand.
Vattenfall is now marketing 200 MW of balancing power from Veja Mate, the largest volume of balancing power made available from an offshore wind farm to date. The wind farm has completed the prequalification process required to participate in the balancing market within the control area operated by TenneT TSO.
Balancing power has traditionally been provided mainly by flexible pumped-storage hydropower plants and gas-fired power stations. The prequalification of Veja Mate enables offshore wind generation to take on this role alongside its electricity production.
The company is also working to qualify additional assets for participation in the market. These include offshore wind farms, photovoltaic parks combined with large-scale batteries, and standalone battery storage systems that Vattenfall leases at a fixed price and operates commercially on the electricity market.
