Ørsted offshore wind farm is the first German offshore wind farm to provide control reserve for the German power grid

Ørsted’s Borkum Riffgrund 1 wind farm is the first German offshore wind farm whose generated electricity can be fed into the German electricity grid to stabilize the system. Following the successful completion of a prequalification process, Borkum Riffgrund 1 demonstrates that balancing power can be offered in the form of Frequency Restoration Reserve and secondary reserve and fed into the electricity grid.

Leipzig/Hamburg/Bayreuth. Since May 2022, Ørsted’s Borkum Riffgrund 1 offshore wind farm has been providing system-stabilizing balancing power for the German electricity grid. The companies Energy2market and Ørsted have successfully worked together to make the electricity from Borkum Riffgrund 1 available as balancing energy for the German electricity grid. The prequalification specified by the transmission system operator TenneT was granted and the offshore wind farm has shown that short-term grid fluctuations can be balanced out with renewable electricity from offshore wind energy.

Jörg Kubitza, Managing Director of Ørsted in Germany, says: “Offshore wind power is in no way inferior to electricity from conventional power plants. The power plants at sea not only produce far more electricity than any other renewable energy source. The technology is also competitive in terms of cost. And now offshore wind power is also conquering the area that was previously reserved for conventional energy sources: stabilizing the power grid. Offshore wind power is therefore one of the foundations of the energy transition in Germany, as it contributes to security of supply on many levels.

In addition to TenneT, the Energy2market prequalification concept on which the project is based also convinced the other three German transmission system operators and was approved for all four control areas. Offshore wind power is also breaking new ground with Borkum Riffgrund 1 as the first German wind farm ever to be approved for the provision of particularly demanding Frequency restoration reserve.

“I am always particularly pleased when we succeed in opening up new, attractive business areas for our customers and partners and at the same time make a sustainable contribution to the success of the energy transition. This is clearly the case with Borkum Riffgrund 1,” says Raphael Hirtz, Managing Director of Energy2market. “The integration via our virtual power plant on the German balancing energy market now enables Ørsted to market the potential of the offshore wind farm in a system-friendly manner. It is also a milestone in the energy transition. Borkum Riffgrund 1 demonstrates the ability of renewables to compensate to a large extent for the reduced flexible output in the overall system due to the phase-out of coal and nuclear power generation.”

TenneT COO Tim Meyerjürgens says: “Together with the other transmission system operators, TenneT has worked intensively on revising the prequalification conditions with the aim of attracting wind farms to provide balancing power. This is now possible and represents an important step for the integration of wind turbines into the balancing power market. I would like to thank Ørsted and Energy2market for leading the way with us as pioneers and am confident that the prequalification of the first offshore wind farm will also motivate other market participants to take this step so that more and more balancing power from wind turbines can be successfully traded on the German balancing power market in the future.”

Balancing energy compensates for fluctuations in the electricity grid

Due to the energy transition in Germany and the phase-out of nuclear and coal-fired power, more and more conventional power plants, some of which have also provided balancing power to date, are being phased out. In order to prevent a supply gap in the provision of balancing power, the German transmission system operators have made intensive efforts to prequalify renewable energies such as wind power and photovoltaics.

The term balancing energy can also be referred to as control power. This acts as a reserve to compensate for fluctuations in the electricity grid, i.e. the grid frequency. Fluctuations in the electricity grid can occur, for example, due to a sudden drop in electricity demand or a change in the weather and therefore higher production from wind and solar. The use of balancing energy can compensate for these fluctuations and thus ensure that there is still a balance between generation and consumption. Electricity can be fed into the grid or taken from the grid.

Why has the prequalification of wind turbines been rare so far?

In addition to speed in the provision of control power, the stability of the power provided is also crucial. The Borkum Riffgrund 1 offshore wind farm (OWP) has provided a solution to this problem. The OWP continuously adjusts the so-called operating point. The control power provided is determined on this basis. For the power frequency controller in TenneT’s control room, the OWP therefore looks like a normal conventional power plant. In addition, Energy2market plans exactly how much power is to be marketed for the next day. If the weather forecasts are inaccurate, slightly less power is offered, but this can then be provided safely.

You can find the images here:

https://orsted.de/presse-media/bildergalerie

You can play our animation “When wind becomes grid-serving – balancing energy from offshore wind farms” here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObV7bez4WjU

For further information, please contact:

Ørsted
Larissa Dieckhoff
Team Lead Communication, Branding & Sustainability
0172/25 00 965
presse@orsted.com

Energy2market GmbH
Anne Walter
Marketing & Communication
Tel.: +49 341 230 28-237
marketing@e2m.energy

TenneT
Mathias Fischer
Press Spokesman / Media Relations
M +49 (0)151 27657832
E-Mail: mathias.fischer@tennet.eu

About Ørsted
Ørsted believes in a world that relies entirely on green energy. The company designs, builds and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, green hydrogen plants and biomass power plants. Ørsted also offers intelligent energy solutions for companies. In Germany, Ørsted operates a total of four offshore wind farms in the German North Sea and supplies the equivalent of around 1.4 million households with green electricity. Two further projects are under development. Ørsted is also working on projects in Germany to produce green hydrogen on an industrial scale. Ørsted is the only energy company in the world with a scientifically validated net-zero emissions target through the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). In 2022, Ørsted was named the world’s most sustainable energy company by Corporate Knights and is a recognized climate leader by the Carbon Disclosure Project. Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs around 6,800 people worldwide, including around 250 at its German sites. Ørsted shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Orsted). In 2021, the company generated a turnover of 10.4 billion euros.

About e2m
Energy2market (e2m), founded in 2009 at its current headquarters in Leipzig, is one of the largest aggregators and energy traders for renewable energies in Germany. The energy service provider bundles, monitors and controls over 5,500 decentralized generation plants from renewable producers, electricity storage facilities and consumers via its own virtual power plant and networks them with the electricity trading markets. With 2,922 MW of marketed generation capacity from renewable energy plants, e2m is one of the largest direct marketers of energy and is the largest pool provider for balancing energy. In 2019, the business magazine Brand eins named e2m one of the most innovative companies in the energy sector; FOCUS Business voted the company one of the “TOP 50 SME employers” in 2018. With the infrastructure required to market energy flexibility, market access to all relevant trading markets and the many years of expertise of around 100 employees, e2m is helping to shape the energy market of the future. Since September 2019, e2m has been part of the renewables division Local Energy Management (LEM) of the energy group EDF. For more information: www.e2m.energy

About TenneT
TenneT is a leading European transmission system operator. We are committed to a secure and reliable electricity supply – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We are helping to shape the energy transition – for a sustainable, reliable and affordable energy future. As the first cross-border transmission system operator, we plan, build and operate an almost 24,500 km-long high-voltage and extra-high voltage grid in the Netherlands and large parts of Germany and enable the European energy market with our 16 interconnectors to neighboring countries. With a turnover of EUR 6.4 billion and total assets of EUR 32 billion, we are one of the largest investors in national and international electricity grids, on land and at sea. Every day, our 6,600 employees give their best and ensure that more than 42 million end consumers can rely on a stable supply of electricity in line with our values of responsibility, courage and networking.

Lighting the way ahead together.