Statoil testing battery storage for wind energy

ABERDEEN, Scotland, March 21 (UPI) -- Norwegian energy company Statoil said it started a pilot project for battery storage of energy generated from wind at a project off the coast of Scotland.

Dubbed Batwind, the company said it was pioneering an energy-storage solution at its Hywind floating offshore wind farm. The development is steered through a memorandum of understanding signed between Statoil, the Scottish government and its national partners.

Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said energy storage has the potential to offer $3.5 billion in system-wide savings by 2030.

"The signing of this memorandum will allow the signatories to work together in the development of the Batwind battery storage solution," he said in a statement. "This will help maximize the renewable generation of the Hywind offshore wind farm, whilst informing the case for energy storage and demonstrating the technology's ability to support renewables in Scotland and internationally."

Statoil was granted a license for its Hywind pilot project that envisions up to five turbines installed by an anchoring system that developers said would facilitate deep-water installation. At full capacity, the company said the floating installation could generate 135 megawatts of power annually, enough to meet the energy demands of about 20,000 average homes.

The Norwegian company aims to install a Lithium battery storage system within two years.

"With Batwind, we can optimize the energy system from wind park to grid," Stephen Bull, a vice president in charge of offshore wind for Statoil, said in a statement. "Battery storage represents a new application in our offshore wind portfolio, contributing to realizing our ambition of profitable growth in this area."

Hywind construction is scheduled for 2017.