North American Windpower: New Energy Storage System Will Be Tested

in News Departments > Products & Technologies

by NAW Staff on Monday 02 October 2006

Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI), a corporation funded by the Irish government that assists in the development of renewable energy, has agreed to provide 50% funding to Tapbury Management, Letterkenny, Ireland, for a study of the feasibility of using an electricity storage system that could provide an uninterrupted supply of wind-generated electricity to the national grid.

According to SEI, if the study is successful, the technology would allow wind energy generated at off-peak times to be stored and supplied to the grid at a scheduled time. Currently, electricity generated by wind farms at off-peak times cannot be stored directly and is lost if unused. The study will be performed at the Sorne Hill Windfarm in Ireland and will test Vancouver, Canada-based VRB Power Systems Inc.'s Vanadium Redox Battery Energy Storage System.

"With approximately 3,000 MW of wind energy in the application process in Ireland, we believe that there could be a need for more than 700 MW of storage," says John Ward, Tapbury's director. "The VRB system will enable us to significantly expand and develop the substantial wind energy resources which the country has."

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