Vattenfall has begun marketing balancing power from an offshore wind farm in Germany for the first time, offering 200MW of capacity from the 416 MW Veja Mate project in the North Sea.

The company said the wind farm has been pre-qualified to provide balancing power in the control area of transmission system operator TenneT TSO and that the 200 MW represents the highest balancing power capacity offered from offshore wind to date.

Project details

Veja Mate is located approximately 95km northwest of the island of Borkum and comprises 67 turbines generating enough electricity to supply the equivalent of 450,000 households.

The project is owned by a consortium comprising Commerz Real, Ingka Group, KGAL Group and wpd invest, with Vattenfall acting as direct marketer for the electricity generated.

Role in the balancing market

The pre-qualification enables the offshore wind farm to participate in Germany's balancing energy market, where transmission system operators procure capacity to address short-term deviations between electricity generation and consumption. Grid frequency must be maintained at 50 Hertz, with balancing power activated when required to compensate for unexpected fluctuations.

Vattenfall said offshore wind offers opportunities to support grid stability because wind conditions at sea are generally consistent and predictable.

"Electricity from renewable sources is not only indispensable when it comes to combating climate change and making the energy transition a success," said Christian Sdralek, responsible for the renewable energy portfolio at Vattenfall. "It can also make an important contribution to the stability of the power system. The marketing of control energy from offshore wind is a strong signal for this."

Wider flexibility portfolio

The company already provides balancing services through its flexible pumped storage power plants, which have a combined capacity of 2.7GW. "As flexible buffers, our pumped storage systems already make a central contribution to grid security and stability," said Sdralek.

Vattenfall is also pursuing further pre-qualifications to enable additional renewable energy assets to participate in the balancing market, including offshore wind farms, solar parks combined with large batteries and third-party battery storage systems.

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