50Hertz and EVH are working together on a project that uses excess wind energy in northeastern Germany to generate heat. They are building a 40-megawatt unit with an investment of up to 15 million euros from 50Hertz.
The unit is planned to start providing heat to the city of Halle by the end of the year. This project will help ease the strain on the power grid during times when wind farms are producing more energy than needed.
This is important because when the grid is overwhelmed, wind turbines have to be shut off to protect power lines and substations, and wind farm operators lose out on potential revenue.
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.”
