Erneuerbare Energie: See-Windparks wollen mit Einspeiseverzicht Geld verdienen

Wind farms off the coast are seeking to earn money through a system called "regulation reserve," which helps balance fluctuations in electricity generation and consumption. According to network operators and suppliers, wind farms could contribute to the stability of the power grid once qualified. Typically, pumped storage power plants, gas power plants, and battery storage facilities take on this task.

However, the contribution of wind power remains negligible, as data from the Federal Network Agency reveals. The transmission system operator 50Hertz, responsible for the power grid in northeastern Germany near the Baltic Sea, reported that several offshore wind farms are in the qualification phase for the regulation market. This monitoring process checks whether the wind farms meet the necessary requirements.

A spokesperson for 50Hertz mentioned that interest in participating in the regulation market is growing. Regulation reserve is a broader term that encompasses regulation power, which describes holding power to stabilize the system, and regulation work, which refers to the activated energy quantity. Transmission system operator Tennet, responsible for the North Sea, reported that wind farm operators are increasingly showing interest in the regulation reserve market.

This applies to the offshore market as well. Vattenfall and Trianel market regulation energy. The energy supplier Vattenfall announced that it is now marketing regulation energy for the first time in offshore zones. The wind farm Veja Mate has been pre-qualified for the Tennet zone, according to the marketer. The wind farm is located about 95 kilometers northwest of Borkum and consists of 67 units.

In August, it was announced that the city district cooperation Trianel pre-qualified the Borkum I wind farm for the regulation energy market. Marketing began in July. Idle time can be lucrative According to the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology (IEE), the current qualifications suggest that offshore wind farms will be better integrated as flexibility options for the regulation energy market.

Offshore wind farms could primarily provide so-called negative regulation power, which means reducing output on demand. This could be financially beneficial for wind farm operators on certain days when generating minimal revenue from electricity exchanges. Wind farm operators could then turn off their turbines and market the idle time as negative regulation power.

However, providing positive regulation power is more challenging, as it would involve voluntarily reducing output to reserve power for potential future use. This would be unnecessary disconnection of renewable energy and often not competitive. Batteries are more efficient, according to the Fraunhofer IEE. While battery storage strengthens the participation of offshore wind farms in the regulation reserve market, batteries are generally more efficient. The issue with batteries, however, is that it becomes harder for developers to connect to the grid.