For a successful energy transition, we need to focus not only on quantitative but also qualitative growth targets – and expand storage capacities in order to fully exploit the potential of wind turbines.
It is probably the greatest risk to the acceptance of the energy transition: Time and again, wind turbines stand still despite stiff breezes because the grid cannot absorb the energy. In such cases, operators have to throttle back or even switch off their turbines, which means that electricity worth several billion euros is lost every year (known as redispatch costs).
The further the energy transition progresses and the scarcer good locations for wind turbines become, the more important it is to also focus on qualitative growth targets. This means driving forward the development and expansion of storage capacities so that operators do not have to switch off, but can store electricity temporarily.
Not only co-location models, i.e. battery storage directly next to wind and solar parks, but also large batteries at important grid nodes are necessary:
The GESI giga-batteries help to better exploit the potential of every wind turbine and every photovoltaic system. After all, (almost) everyone is likely to agree on one point: it is better to make the best possible use of existing plants than to build new wind turbines in completely unsuitable locations.
A large battery absorbs electricity from up to 200 wind turbines
An example calculation underlines how great the battery storage potential is: If we assume that a giga-battery absorbs two gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity on average once and a half times a day, which would otherwise have been lost due to curtailment, we arrive at a total annual storage volume of around 1000 GWh.
A large wind turbine currently produces around 5 GWh per year at mediocre to poor locations (assuming 1000 hours of wind). This means that a giga-battery can absorb the equivalent production of 200 wind turbines, which would cost around one billion euros.
Of course, the calculation depends on several variables. But the orders of magnitude underpin the fact that qualitative growth through more Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) offers enormous opportunities.
After all, in many places we already have the problem that the best wind turbine locations are occupied. Sometimes turbines are erected in places with moderate conditions or so close together that they take wind away from each other. Anyone who measures the success of the energy transition solely by the sum of newly installed generation capacity is therefore falling far short.