Trianel Windpark Borkum I (TWB I) has prequalified around 70 MW of capacity for Germany’s balancing energy market and began supplying negative secondary control reserve in July 2026.
The marketing of the balancing capacity started on 22 July, allowing the offshore wind farm to provide an additional grid-stabilisation service alongside electricity generation.
Negative secondary control reserve allows the transmission system operator (TSO) to automatically reduce the power output of a participating generation facility when required. According to Trianel, the adjustment must be carried out within five minutes.
The service is enabled by a dedicated remote-control infrastructure developed for the wind farm. It transmits requests from transmission system operators to the offshore wind farm in real time and automatically implements the required changes in output. The system has a redundant architecture designed to meet the technical requirements of the balancing market.
Trianel said the prequalification creates an additional revenue opportunity for the offshore wind farm alongside its existing power sales arrangements, including power purchase agreements (PPAs).
“The prequalification of the wind farm demonstrates that renewable energies can offer far more than just electricity production” , said Lars Becker , Head of Virtual Power Plant at Trianel GmbH. “This increases the economic attractiveness of the offshore wind farm. Our goal is to optimally integrate renewable energies into the energy market.”
Trianel Windpark Borkum I is Germany’s first municipal offshore wind farm in the North Sea. The wind farm is located about 45 kilometres northwest of the coast of Borkum and comprises 40 Adwen AD5-116 (formerly known as Areva Wind M5000) wind turbines.
The 200 MW offshore wind farm, which has been in operation since 2015, has so far generated more than 6.59 billion kWh of electricity, according to Trianel.
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